The husband of a woman murdered during a home invasion says he found it difficult to watch footage of the attack and hear why the teenage killer should receive a lighter sentence.
The teenager appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday after pleading guilty to murder in the first hearing of a multi-day sentencing process.
The 18-year-old and another teenager were charged after Emma Lovell was fatally stabbed at her home north of Brisbane in 2022.
Emma Lovell stabbed during home invasion in North Lakes in 2022
Lee Lovell (pictured) battled in the Brisbane Supreme Court during a sentencing hearing for his wife’s killer, who was seeking a lighter sentence on Friday.
Emma Lovell, 41 (left), was allegedly stabbed to death by two boys, then aged 17, at around 11.30pm on Boxing Day (pictured with Mr Lovell).
Police alleged the two boys, then aged 17, broke into a house in North Lakes and attacked Mrs Lovell and her husband Lee at around 11.30pm on Boxing Day.
The mother-of-two died after being stabbed in the chest while Lovell was treated in hospital for a knife wound.
Lovell spoke outside court after Judge Tom Sullivan heard from the prosecution and defense about what sentence he should impose.
‘I didn’t really want to look at (the teenager) too much.’ “I wasn’t going to read a victim impact statement at first either, but I felt like I owed it to Emma,” she said.
Lovell said he had not seen the security footage before Friday’s sentencing.
Lovell said it was traumatic to see footage of him fighting with the teens the night of the stabbing.
‘It was quite difficult to see me fighting with the boys who came out of the house. That was traumatic,” she stated.
Judge Sullivan heard he could sentence the teenager to a maximum of 10 years in prison or 14 years if he considered the crime to be “particularly heinous”.
Lovell told the court he was doing his best to raise his children after losing his wife of 22 years.
‘I feel so lost without her… It was so hard to come home. My daughter was afraid they would come back.’
Lovell said his family faced life in prison, while the person who murdered his wife did not.
Crown prosecutor David Nardone said the teenager stabbed Ms Lovell with such force that the blade of the knife broke.
“He has broken into premises or homes on 16 occasions… this was the first time he had entered a home armed and knew the risks… he raised the risk of harm,” Mr Nardone said.
Security footage was played showing the teenager testing the front door and finding it open before entering ahead of his accomplice.
Shortly afterwards, the teenager got into a physical altercation with Mr and Mrs Lovell while holding a knife.
Another camera showed the teens running down the street as the Lovells collapsed in the driveway.
Kassie (left) and Scarlett Lovell were also sleeping in the house when the teenagers broke in.
The Lovell family left court as graphic audio of the home invasion was played.
The couple’s two teenage children, Kassie and Scarlett, were also sleeping in the house when the accomplices broke in.
A barking dog alerted the couple and they attempted to push the two intruders out of the house.
The teenager stabbed Mrs Lovell in the heart and Mr Lovell in the back, before kicking him several times in the head.
Defense attorney Scott Lynch said the teen grew up in a chaotic environment, exposed to domestic violence and finding his only close friend dead after he took his own life.
“He only felt reasonable or himself after he had consumed alcohol, sniffed glue or inhaled cannabis,” Lynch said.
Judge Sullivan asked why the teenager’s premeditated decision to enter a house with a knife in his hand knowing there were probably people inside would not cause outrage among ordinary members of the community.
‘His intention was to escape and enter, although armed. It was not an intention to kill. “The knife was used in the context of a fight,” Lynch said.
Judge Sullivan said he would reserve his sentencing decision until a date to be set next week.
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