An Australian teenager has pleaded guilty to the murder of British mother Emma Lovell during a Boxing Day burglary at her home.
Emma, 41, emigrated to Australia for a ‘better life’ from Suffolk in 2011 with her husband Lee, who survived the 2022 incident, and their two daughters.
Queensland Police allege the two boys, who cannot be identified as they were 17 years old at the time of the incident, broke into Mrs Lovell’s house in North Lakes in the state of Queensland on Boxing Day in 2022.
Mrs Lovell and her husband allegedly confronted the teenagers before the two boys tried to flee the scene.
One of the teenagers, who is now 18, then allegedly stabbed the couple in the front garden of the family’s north Brisbane home.
An Australian teenager has pled guilty to the murder of British mother Emma Lovell (pictured) during a Boxing Day burglary at her home
Emma, 41, emigrated to Australia for a ‘better life’ from Suffolk in 2011 with her husband Lee, who survived the 2022 incident, and their two daughters
Police are seen at the scene of the crime at a suburb outside Brisbane on December 27, 2022
The second teenager is also being charged with the British mother’s murder but is yet to enter a plea.
Mrs Lovell was wounded in the chest and died as a result of her injuries.
Her husband, who survived the alleged attack, attended the brief arraignment and was present at Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Monday to hear the teen’s guilty plea.
He did not provide media comment.
The teen who allegedly wielded the murder weapon also pled guilty to burglary, malicious acts with intent and assault occasioning bodily harm over an attack on Mr Lovell.
He was remanded in custody and will face sentencing on May 3
Mrs Lovell was wounded in the chest and died as a result of her injuries
One of the teenagers has now pled guilty to murder while the other one has not made a plea. Pictured the crime scene in the suburb of Northlakes, 16 miles north of Brisbane
Pictured is a map showing the halfway house where the suspects lived and the Lovells’ home
In a heartbreaking interview in December, Mr Lovell said the aftermath of his beloved wife’s death had seen him go into ‘dad mode’ – with his full focus on looking after his daughters.
He decided to take his children, Scarlett, 15, and 14-year-old Kassie back to the UK to avoid a painful Christmas due to the memories attached to their bungalow Down Under.
He told the BBC: ‘The kids, the house, I’ve been trying to be the best parent I can be. It’s all on me. They were 13 and 15 at the time. Emma lost her dad at 13 and I know how much that affected her.
‘I’ve got to get up, I’ve got to work, I’ve got to get the kids to school and put food on the table for them. I’ve got to make sure there’s a roof over their head.
‘So I guess I’ve been a bit practical in that regard. I’ve just got on with life a bit. They just come to me and talk to me about stuff – their day at school, boys, girls stuff. You’ve just got to be the best person you can.’
Mr Lovell said he felt like his future had been ‘robbed’, adding: ‘Sometimes in life you go through things and you’re not so confident about something and you lean on that other person to help get you through and I just don’t have that.
‘It’s also hard seeing couples together, you feel really angry and jealous about that.’
The Lovells fell in love when they first arrived in Australia from the UK in 2002 and decided to make it their permanent home.
Shattered neighbours left tributes following the murder to their ‘beautiful friend’ outside
They celebrated Christmas Day 2022 by eating a special meal at the local beach.
Mr Lovell wrote in a Facebook post at the time: ‘So for the first time in 11 years we spent Christmas day on the beach and even managed to cook up some bacon and eggs!’
‘Hope everyone has a great Christmas day spent with loved ones and friends.’
Hours after the post – when the family had returned home 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 ‘mummy’s bleeding’.
‘I remember thinking at the time, ”I can’t die, I can’t leave the kids orphans”’, he recalled.
Mrs Lovell was resuscitated but died later in hospital.
Speaking in December, her shattered husband said he had found grieving ‘hard’, struggling to combine it with the pressures of looking after his kids.
He called his late wife ‘beautiful, amazing’ and said he regularly found himself breaking down in tears while he was driving due to the pain of losing her.
Bouquets of flowers were seen resting against a tree outside the Lovell’s North Lakes home on December 28, 2022
Emma pictured with her two children Scarlett, 15, and 14-year-old Kassie
In August, Mr Lovell revealed his determination to stay in the house where his wife died because it was full of years of joyful memories.
‘I just want to focus on this house being a happy place for us and our family,’ Mr Lovell told The Courier Mail.
He said that for months the whole family had slept in the same bedroom after the terrifying incident with Scarlett on a mattress on the floor and Kassie where her mother used to sleep.
He said that while he was proud of his children for being strong, it had also caused the absence of his wife to sink in further.
‘I haven’t gotten used to it, I suppose it’s been pretty lonely. Just going to bed by myself and waking up by myself,’ he said.
The children had offered to stay, which Mr Lovell suspects was for his benefit rather than theirs, but he conceded they should go if they felt ready, even if he did not.
Mr Lovell said he had added extra security since that night including a new security door at the front of the property, motion sensors and security cameras which, even eight months on, he will vigilantly check throughout the night.
The couple had been particularly close, having been married young and spent more than two decades together, including relocating across the other side of the world from the UK to Australia in 2011.
Mr Lovell said it was particularly ‘heartbreaking’ to lose such an intimate relationship in which both he and Emma had been so happy.
Speaking publicly for the first time since losing her mother, in August, Scarlett said her presence would ‘brighten’ any room she was in and said she found it hard to recall moments when her mother was ever sad.
She particularly misses their regular night drives to collect Kassie together.
‘I guess it’s when we really opened up to each other but also had a lot of fun singing songs and stuff,’ Scarlett said.
Mr Lovell said with each day the family is adjusting to the loss though some days are harder. His birthday and Mother’s Day, just a week apart, were particularly difficult.
Scarlett and Kassie have become closer to their father, confiding in him about boys or teenage things they would previously only ever tell their mother.
Mrs Lovell’s death prompted outrage across Queensland. Pictured: The family together
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged the ‘justifiable community outrage’ in response to Emma Lovell’s tragic death (pictured, locals pay tribute outside Emma’s home)
An emotional Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli visited the North Lakes family home on Wednesday to pay his respects to Emma Lovell on December 28, 2022
‘Emma was the glue in our family, she was funny, smart, so caring, would do anything for anyone,’ Mr Lovell previously told Daily Mail Australia. ‘She died trying to protect me and our family.’
At the time of the tragedy last Boxing Day, neighbour Julie Balhatchet told Daily Mail Australia her daughters were on the second floor of their home when they saw the commotion unfolding across the road.
They quickly told their father who ran across the street to help.
‘When my husband ran over, it was dark. He had no idea she was injured,’ Mrs Balhatchet said. ‘She [Mrs Lovell] was laying face down on the ground bleeding.’
Mrs Balhatchet said after the scuffle in the street, her daughters saw the two alleged offenders running from the house.
While her husband and Mr Lovell worked to save his wife, another neighbour ushered the two daughters away from the traumatic scene.
Mrs Balhatchet was devastated to later learn Mrs Lovell died in hospital.
The proposed tougher law reforms were dubbed Emma’s Law in memory of Emma Lovell
‘It’s just so so sad,’ she said. ‘Those poor girls and her husband. He was very distraught.’
Mrs Balhatchet said the random alleged attack had shocked the normally quiet neighbourhood.
‘I’ve lived here 19 years and nothing like this has happened. You think, why them? It could have been any of us on the street.’
Originally from Hasketon, Mrs Lovell moved to Australia to have the chance to have a ‘better life’ for her family, her brother David Angel told the BBC.
Mrs Lovell’s death prompted outrage across Queensland and was one of many high-profile crimes that saw the state introduce stricter youth crime laws in 2023.
An emotional Queensland opposition leader David Crisafulli visited their North Lakes family home with flower after the murder to pay his respects to Emma Lovell.
Mr Lovell backed calls for an urgent overhaul to the youth justice system as he issued a desperate plea for politicians to act and follow through.
He urged politicians to the fast-track legislation, dubbed ‘Emma’s Law’ in a petition calling for mandatory jail and no bail for armed and violent repeat home invaders, as thousands of Australians also pledged their support.
It is now a criminal offence in Queensland if a child breaches bail conditions.
Children as young as 15 can also be fitted with GPS trackers, and the courts now have the authority to declare youths as serious repeat offenders in certain circumstances.
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