A Tasmanian woman who was nearly killed by her ex-partner says she is relieved the trial is over but she will never recover from the attack.
WARNING: This story contains details of a murder and family violence.
Kerry Lee Whiting, 47, was convicted by a Launceston Supreme Court jury of murder and attempted murder on Tuesday.
He will be sentenced next week for the crimes but today the court heard victim impact statements.
In November 2021, Whiting entered the house of his ex-partner Natalie Harris and her new partner Adrian Mayne.
He went straight to the bedroom where they were sleeping and stabbed them numerous times.
Mr Mayne died at the scene but Ms Harris narrowly survived because her teenage son intervened.
On Wednesday morning, Ms Harris read out a victim impact statement to the court.
"I'll never recover from what happened that night," she said.
"The physical scars I have are a constant reminder.
"I wanted to get tattoos to cover the scars, but I was told my skin is too damaged."
Ms Harris said she had constant nightmares about that night and it was difficult to sleep in the house where the attack happened.
She said giving evidence in the trial was "re-traumatising" and she was relieved it was over.
"I can finally distance myself from Kerry Whiting," she said.
Daughter now 'locks herself away'
Ms Harris also read out a victim impact statement she wrote on behalf of her 16-year-old daughter, who was home during the attack.
Her daughter has autism, and Ms Harris said she had stopped going to school and had struggled to get back to normal life.
"She locks herself away in her room," Ms Harris said.
"She feels safer being awake at night in case anything happens.
"She told me she thinks I'm going to go out one day and never come back."
Ms Harris said the attack had strained the relationship between her daughter and her son, as he intervened to stop the attack.
"She felt guilty that she didn't come out of her room and help him," she said.
Ms Harris said she was hopeful her daughter was starting to improve.
In Ms Harris's son's victim impact statement, he said he was still processing the trauma of fighting his father away from his mother.
"I have flashbacks of things I saw that night," the now-18-year-old said.
"I still struggle to feel safe enough to fall asleep now, and when I do, I have nightmares."
He said in the week after the attack, he and his sisters had to move around for their safety while Whiting evaded police capture. Even though his mother was under police guard in hospital, he worried if she would be OK.
"To know a murderer is my biological father is a terrifying thing," he said.
"What kind of father would expose his children to such violence?"
But he said he was focused on his future, with a job as a disability support worker.
"I'm determined to live a meaningful life despite what I've been through," he said.
"It won't break me. I won’t allow that."
Murder victim's family 'devastated'
The crown prosecutor read out statements from the mother, sister and brother of Mr Mayne, who had two young daughters.
His sister Donna's statement said the girls were "devastated their father is gone".
"I have been scarred for life because of this," she said.
"It chills me to the bone that someone could do that to their own family and to my brother."
His mother Jeanine's statement said the day she found out her son was killed plays over and over in her mind.
She said she sometimes sees a man on the street who looks like her son and for "a fleeting moment Adrian is back again", only to remember he is gone.
She said he loved AFL and they would watch the grand final together, but it was difficult to enjoy family events with him gone.
"Adrian was the baby of the family, my youngest, and it’s just not the same without him," she said.