The teenage killer who stabbed a mother-of-two during a home invasion laughed when police found him hiding nearby, a judge has revealed.
Emma Lovell, 41, was fatally stabbed in the heart after two boys, then aged 17, broke into her Brisbane home at around 11.30pm on Boxing Day 2022.
Judge Tom Sullivan sentenced one of the offenders to 14 years in prison with a non-parole period of almost 10 years in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to murder, burglary armed and in company, malicious act with intent and assault causing bodily harm.
Judge Sullivan revealed that shortly after the crime the police found the teenagers in a bedroom of a nearby house, hiding under a blanket.
“At one point, while you were detained outside that residence, you started laughing,” he said.
“There had been no conversation with anyone immediately before the laughter.”
Emma Lovell was fatally stabbed at her home north of Brisbane in 2022
Lovell and her two daughters Kassie (left) and Scarlett (right) appeared somber outside the court after the sentence was handed down.
“This crime was heinous and would create outrage in the community,” Judge Sullivan said Monday.
Crown prosecutor David Nardone previously said the teenager had stabbed Ms Lovell with such force that the blade of the knife broke.
Security footage previously played for Judge Sullivan showed the teen trying the front door and finding it open before entering ahead of his accomplice.
The teenager then got into a physical altercation with Mr and Mrs Lovell while holding a knife and made two attempts to stab the couple.
The couple’s two teenage children, Kassie and Scarlett, were also sleeping in the house when the accomplices broke in.
The teenager stabbed Mrs Lovell in the heart and Mr Lovell in the back, before kicking him several times in the head.
Judge Sullivan said the Lovell daughters were standing over their mother’s body sobbing when police and paramedics arrived and open heart surgery was performed in the front garden in an attempt to save her life.
Emma Lovell (pictured with her husband Lee) was stabbed to death early on Boxing Day 2022
Police are seen at the crime scene in a suburb outside Brisbane on December 27, 2022.
Defense lawyer Scott Lynch previously said the killer grew up in a chaotic environment, was exposed to domestic violence and had discovered his only close friend dead after taking his own life.
Judge Sullivan said the teenager had an extensive but previously non-violent criminal history that included 16 robberies.
“You were not remanded in custody for any of those offences,” Judge Sullivan said.
Judge Sullivan said victim impact statements had revealed a “devastating” impact.
‘The Lovells were ordinary citizens who enjoyed family life in their home, where they had a right to feel safe. ‘What happened violated that completely,’ Judge Sullivan said.
The teenager must comply with at least 70 percent of the detention order with a credit of 500 days of preventive detention.
Lee Lovell says he believes justice has not been served following Monday’s sentencing
The aftermath of the crime scene, where doctors performed open-heart surgery on Lovell’s lawn in an attempt to save the mother’s life.
Speaking outside court afterwards, Lee Lovell said no sentence would bring back his wife and the mother of his two teenage daughters, Kassie and Scarlett.
Outside the court, Lovell’s widower Lee said he welcomed the sentence, but it would not be enough to bring his wife back.
“I would like to think that in the future this could help other people and set a new precedent,” he told reporters outside the court.
Lovell revealed that he had been anxious about the trial and spent Mother’s Day without thinking about the pending sentencing.
“It would have been a very different day if Emma had been here,” he said.
When asked if he felt justice had been done, Lovell said: “No, I don’t feel justice has been done in the slightest.”
“(We) thought they would sentence him to life in prison,” he said.
“It’s nice to get 14 years, but it will never be enough… I don’t think justice will be done in the slightest.”