Mother-of-two Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed to death on the lawn outside her North Lakes home, north of Brisbane.
The shattered husband of a woman fatally stabbed in a Boxing Day home invasion has expressed disbelief after a youth was acquitted of murder, calling it a “joke.”
Mother-of-two Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed to death on the lawn outside her North Lakes home, north of Brisbane, in December 2022.
The attack occurred during a home invasion carried out by two 17-year-old boys.
One of the youths, now aged 18, pleaded not guilty to murder at a judge-only trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court.
Justice Michael Copley on Oct. 31 found the teen not guilty of murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter as well as malicious act with intent and wounding.
However, he was found guilty of burglary and assault.
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A stunned Lee Lovell walked out of Brisbane Supreme Court with tears in his eyes as he contemplated the verdict, almost two years after his wife died.
“I think the verdict was a bit of a joke, I don’t think it justifies Emma one bit,” Lovell said.
“It’s not how I expected today to be going, to be honest.”
Another teen charged over the home invasion pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in May.
The defendant who faced trial did not directly take part in the violence but was accused of murder based on claims he knew his burglary co-offender was armed with a knife.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has vowed to introduce tough laws for juvenile offenders by Christmas after leading the LNP to victory in the state election with an “adult crime, adult time” campaign.
Harsher juvenile sentencing laws were needed, Lovell said.
“We’re the ones with the life sentence now and everyone else carries on with what they’re doing,” he said.
During the trial, the judge was shown a few seconds of security footage taken from a camera above the Lovells’ front door.
The footage shows the accused teen entering the Lovells’ home at 11.30 p.m. on the night of Boxing Day.
Crown prosecutor David Nardone told the court the footage also showed the defendant looking at his burglary co-offender’s knife as it was held centimetres from his face.
The teen had pleaded not guilty to all charges. His sentencing is due to start on Dec. 4.
Nardone indicated Lovell would choose not to involve himself in restorative justice with the youth.
But Lovell said he would attend the sentencing.
“I feel like I’m slightly wasting my time coming along for a burglary charge because he’ll probably walk out the door before I do the way things are going,” he said.
“But I’ll come along anyway.”
