Murdered mum’s family living ‘life sentence’

The husband of a Queensland mum who was fatally stabbed in the chest during a violent home invasion has shared how his family are struggling to come to terms with the “massive hole” in their lives.

North Lakes woman Emma Lovell was killed when two teenagers allegedly broke into her home as the family slept on Boxing Day night in 2022.

Ms Lovell, 41, suffered a fatal stab wound to the chest when the confrontation spilt into the front yard.

Two teenagers, both 17 at the time, were charged with Ms Lovell’s murder and have spent the past two years remanded in custody.

One teenager – now aged 18 – pleaded guilty to charges of murder and burglary by break-in while armed and in company in March this year.

He also pleaded guilty to malicious act with intent and assault occasioning bodily harm.

The teenager, who cannot be identified due to laws in Queensland preventing the identification of child defendants, fronted Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday when submissions were made on behalf of the Crown and the 18-year-old’s defence.

The court was told and saw CCTV footage of the teenager approaching the front door of the Lovell home in the late hours of Boxing Day 2022 and finding it unlocked.

He is then seen leaving the frame before coming back with a second youth.

The teenager is armed with a knife and the pair enter the house.

A few moments later, Mr and Ms Lovell appear on the footage charging the two teens out of the house as the four people appear to be in a tussle with each other at the front door.

Their screams were heard echoing through the court as the audio was played separately.

The Lovells tried to push the teens out of the house before the group moved to the front lawn.

It’s during these moments that the teen stabbed Ms Lovell’s widower, Lee, twice in the back with a knife and kicked him in the head while he lay on the ground.

Crown prosecutor David Nardone said Ms Lovell was also stabbed in the chest once, piercing her heart with the 11cm blade that broke away from its handle before the teens fled the scene.

Speaking in court, Mr Lovell said his family had been dealt a “life sentence” since the horrific and violent home invasion.

“I feel so lost in life in life without her,” Mr Lovell said.

“We were more than just a couple, we were best friends who loved spending time together.

“There’s a massive hole in our lives that now cannot just be filled.

“Em had a close connection (to their daughters). The loss is really affecting them.

“I feel like the gals and I have had our futures robbed of us.”

Mr Lovell shared that he’d discussed with his wife whether they should return to the UK, where they’d emigrated from 13 years ago.

They’d decided to stay but now he says he doesn’t know if that’s what’s best for his family.

“I really don’t know what the best option is for all of us,” Mr Lovell said.

“I feel so lost without her, I wonder if returning to the UK will be the best option for us.”

He said his daughters had struggled to return to their home after their mother was killed, with his eldest daughter constantly fearing people would break into the house again.

Mr Lovell said he’d since installed extra security and CCTV to make his family feel safe.

The court also heard from Ms Lovell’s mother and brother who shared their ongoing heartache at the loss of their loved one.

Outside court, Mr Lovell said the drawn-out court process had been quite difficult for his family.

“Coming out of there now I feel pretty positive to a certain extent we might get a better outcome than what we were hoping for,” he said.

“Nothing is ever going to be good enough but I would like to see the defendant get more than 10 years.

“It’s been quite slow, a lot of the prior court mentions I haven’t had much to do with.

“I’m pleased the defendant had entered the early plea.

“I didn’t really want to go through a trial.

“I hope that justice is prevailed and we can move on.

“The arraignment I found harder. When I first saw the defendant I couldn’t take my eyes off him because you expected to see a monster, that was my perception.

“But to see a normal young adult walking in was really bizarre. Today I didn’t want to look at him too much.”

Mr Lovell said he still found that his injuries from being stabbed in the back were impacting him day-to-day.

“It still itches and is painful at times but it’s OK,” he said.

“It was hard seeing myself (on the CCTV) fighting the guys coming out.”

Mr Nardone argued the teenager – who was 17 years and eight months old at the time of the murder – should be given a life sentence compared with the maximum 10-year sentence imposed under the Youth Justice Act.

Mr Nardone said the teen’s “high culpability” during the crime was because he went armed with a knife to the Lovell home.

The court was told the teen had a lengthy criminal history before Ms Lovell’s death, including 16 break and enters where twice the homes were occupied.

However, Mr Nardone said the teen was armed for the first time when he broke into the Lovells’ home.

“(The teen) checked the status of the Lovells’ home, he does so stealthy and he’s somewhat gleeful at the success of finding an unlocked door,” Mr Nardone said.

Mr Nardone said the teenager was “conscious” of the risk there might be someone in the house given the time of night and a car parked in the driveway.

“At some point (the teen’s) conduct becomes more than just an escape and it provides Your Honour insight into a level of moral culpability involved in his conduct,” he said.

The teenager’s defence barrister, Scott Lynch, told the court that although his client had pleaded guilty to murder, Ms Lovells’ death was not an “intentional murder”.

“There was not an intention to kill,” Mr Lynch said.

“It did occur in the dead of night but it can equally be said that when people are sleeping, it’s less likely you’ll confront a person.

“It can equally be said that he didn’t endeavour (to meet) a person, he didn’t endeavour to wake the residents and when they did awake, he endeavoured to flee.

“The knife wasn’t used in the house, from the footage you can see it occurred outside and it occurred in the context of a struggle.”

Justice Tom Sullivan has reserved his sentence for a later date.

The second youth is yet to enter a plea.