A teenager who stabbed a British mother to death after breaking into her Australian house has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Emma Lovell, 41, was slain while confronting two intruders in Brisbane on Boxing Day 2022.She had immigrated from Suffolk in 2011 with her girls and husband, Lee, who was also injured in the incident.
The criminal, who cannot be legally identified since he was 17 at the time, pled guilty to her murder earlier this year.
On Monday afternoon local time, he was sentenced at Brisbane’s Supreme Court. He is now 19.
When sentencing Justice Tom Sullivan said Ms Lovell’s murder was a “particularly heinous” crime.
The Lovells had been “a loving family” building a life for themselves in a new country, he said.
“They were ordinary citizens enjoying their family life in their home where they were entitled to feel safe. What happened… violated that entirely.”
The other alleged intruder has not yet entered pleas, with his case scheduled for a hearing in Brisbane later this month.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that the couple had confronted the teenagers after being awakened by their dogs. The altercation escalated, leading to the teenagers being pushed outside of the house and a physical struggle ensuing in the garden.
Tragically, Ms. Lovell was fatally stabbed in the heart with an 11.5cm (4.5 inch) knife during the confrontation. Responding police and paramedics arrived to find Ms. Lovell’s two teenage daughters distraught over their mother’s body.
Efforts to save Ms. Lovell’s life were made on the front lawn of the home, where medics performed open-heart surgery. Despite these efforts, she passed away shortly after being transported to the hospital.
The attack, which occurred in the suburb of North Lakes, approximately 45km (30 miles) north of Brisbane, was captured on a security camera.
Ms. Lovell’s family has previously expressed their desire for her killer to receive a life sentence. However, under Queensland law, the offender must be sentenced as a child, despite facing a mandatory life sentence for murder.
