A teenager who broke into a British mother’s home with another boy and stabbed her to death has been freed despite being convicted for his role in the deadly home invasion.
Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed outside her property near Brisbane on the night of December 26, 2022, during a home invasion carried out by two 17-year-old boys.
CCTV captured both teenagers fighting with Mrs Lovell and her husband before the fight spilled into the driveway of the family home, where one of the attackers stabbed her in the chest.
The attacker who inflicted the fatal wound pleaded guilty to his murder and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
However, his co-accused was acquitted of murder and was instead found guilty of robbery and assault causing bodily harm in company during a judges-only trial in October.
The 19-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also charged with a series of other crimes committed in the months before the raid, including raids on other houses.
Judge Michael Copley sentenced him to 18 months in prison. He was released after being sentenced on Wednesday after spending almost two years in detention awaiting the verdict.
Emma’s husband Lee shared his frustration at what he said was a lenient sentence for the teenager, arguing that she should have faced the same sentence as her co-offender.
Emma Lovell died after being stabbed by a teenager during a home invasion in North Lakes on Boxing Day 2022.
The teenager who inflicted the fatal wound on Ms Lovell – who left with her husband Lee – was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to her murder.
CCTV captured the Lovells fighting with the teenage intruders when they entered their open house north of Brisbane in the early hours of December 26, 2022.
Lee Lovell arrives at the Brisbane Supreme Court in Brisbane, Wednesday December 4, 2024
Mr and Mrs Lovell, both British, moved to Australia from Ipswich in 2011 after first visiting the country in 2002.
“Australia was supposed to be our dream come true, but I can’t help but feel completely disappointed and devastated,” Lovell told the court on Wednesday.
The father-of-two said his daughters’ lives would never be the same and revealed he is now considering moving his family back to the UK.
“I feel like Boxing Day 2022 was like a sliding door moment for us,” he said while addressing the delinquent teenager in court.
‘Our life should have been going in one direction and yet here I am, because the actions of you and your co-offender took away my family’s right to expect peace, security and protection within our family home.
“Now I am forced to play a role: that of a grieving husband, an assault victim, and a father, trying to make his family feel safe again in our home.”
The prosecution had requested up to 12 months of probation upon the young offender’s release out of concern for the safety of the community.
Crown prosecutor David Nardone cited his “fairly extensive criminal history” of more than 100 offences, the guardian reports, including other cases of home invasions.
The teen’s defense attorney argued that he had expressed “remorse and concern about the consequences of the break-in at the Lovell residence” and was trying to turn his life around.
The judge also noted that he had experienced a turbulent home life, that he had grown up in a home plagued by drug use and domestic violence, and that his father had been in and out of prison.
“None of this excuses your offending, but it puts it in a broader context,” Judge Copley said.
In his sentencing, Supreme Court Justice Michael Copley revealed that the words “I will kill you” could be heard on CCTV audio of the incident, along with the word “stop” shouted repeatedly, he reported. The Australian.
Lovell called his late wife “beautiful, incredible” and said he regularly broke down in tears because of the pain of losing her.
Grief-stricken Lee Lovell was seen speaking to reporters after a judge found the second teenager involved in the robbery not guilty of murdering his wife. Image: NewsWire
The legal team for the teenager sentenced today argued that their client was the one who shouted ‘enough’ during the attack.
The court heard how Mr and Mrs Lovell had attempted to fend off intruders after they were awakened by their dogs barking at around 11.30pm on Boxing Day 2022.
Lovell was also stabbed during a “physical struggle directly outside the front door” that then moved to the front yard, where his wife was fatally stabbed.
Emma, originally from Hasketon, moved to Australia to have a ‘better life’ for her family, according to her brother David Angel, who spoke to the BBC.
The couple and their daughters Kassie and Scarlett, then aged 14 and 15, celebrated Christmas Day 2022 with a special meal on the local beach.
Her husband wrote in a Facebook post on Christmas Day 2022, the day before her death: “So for the first time in 11 years we spent Christmas Day at the beach and even managed to cook bacon and eggs!”
Mrs Lovell, her husband and their two daughters, Kassie and Scarlett, then aged 14 and 15 (pictured), celebrated Christmas Day 2022 with a special meal on the local beach.
“I hope everyone has a great Christmas Day with their loved ones and friends.”
Hours after publication, when the family had returned to their bungalow in North Lakes, Brisbane, they woke up to find intruders in the hallway.
Mr Lovell had just forced one of the men out of the house when he heard his daughter say “mum’s bleeding”.
“I remember thinking at that moment, ‘I can’t die, I can’t leave the children orphaned,'” he recalled.
Lovell called his late wife “beautiful, incredible” and said he regularly broke down in tears because of the pain of losing her.
“Emma was the glue in our family, she was funny, smart, very loving, she would do anything for anyone,” Lovell previously told Daily Mail Australia.
“She died trying to protect me and our family.”