Teen killer pleads guilty after stabbing British mother Emma Lovell, 41, to death on Boxing Day during horror home invasion
A TEENAGE boy has pleaded guilty to the horrific stabbing of a British mother on Boxing Day 2022 in Australia.
Emma Lovell, 41, died after she and her husband Lee, 43, were stabbed in their home as they bravely fought off two teenage burglars.
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The brave mother of two, originally from Ipswich, tried to defend their home from burglars while the couple’s two daughters were inside.
A scuffle broke out on the porch and the neighbors heard one from her daughters shouting “someone help my mother, help my mother”.
Emma was knife in the chest and later died from her injuries.
Lee was released from hospital after suffering a non-life-threatening stab wound.
Police has charged two 17-year-olds with Emma’s murderand today one of them pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court.
He also pleaded guilty to burglary, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and malicious act with intent.
The teenager spoke alone in court to make his plea and silently shook his head when asked if he wanted to say anything else.
Lee attended the court hearing, sat in the back, and declined to comment afterward.
Emma was the glue of my family, she was such a beautiful person. We are all devastated by her loss, it is senseless
Lee Lovell
The teenager accused of Emma’s murder was also accused of stabbing Lee in the back and kicking him in the face while he was on the ground.
He will be sentenced in May and the other teen is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
At the time, police arrested four teenage boys near the family’s Brisbane home just four hours after the burglary.
Two 17-year-olds were subsequently charged with murder and attempted murder.
And two more boys, 17 and 16, assisted police in their investigation.
Detectives confirmed that all four teens were “known to police.”
And locals at the time feared Emma’s murder could be linked teenage gangs terrorizing homes amid a spate of brazen burglaries.
Emma and Lee moved from Suffolk to Australia with their two daughters more than twelve years ago.
The family had spent Christmas Day on the beach on the Sunshine Coast that year and shared a smiling family photo online.
They wrote on Facebook: “I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day with loved ones and friends.”
On Boxing Day Eve around 11:30 p.m., the intruders disturbed Lee and Emma at their home.
According to police, the family was ‘woken by barking dogs’ before ‘defending their home’.
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Lee explained how the horror unfolded: “We heard our two dogs barking, Emma checked our security app and saw the front door was open.
“We both ran out our bedroom door, Emma behind me, and saw two people in our house.
“I didn’t even know there was a problem until my daughter noticed her mother was bleeding.”
The devastated father paid a sweet tribute to his wife after her death, saying: “died trying to protect me and our family“.
He told reporters: “Emma was the glue to my family, she was such a beautiful person.
“We are all devastated by her loss, it is senseless.”
The father said at the time that he initially thought his wife would survive her injuries from the attack.
But he recalled hours later the “great shock” when he found out she had died.
He then had to break the heartbreaking news to his daughters after one of them asked, “Where’s mommy?”
I just really scream, from the two young girls. “Someone help my mother, help my mother”
Jay Balhatchet
Neighbor Jay Balhatchet, who witnessed paramedics helping Emma on the front lawn, said the neighborhood woke up to screams.
He said: “I actually screamed from the two young girls. ‘Someone help my mother, help my mother’.”
“That’s about the time everyone stood up, and then they saw it all happening on the front lawn.”
He later saw the couple’s children “carrying their dogs and belongings to the ambulance in which their father was sitting.”
The family’s neighbor added: “They went with him. I think they were in shock. They were in tears.”
Christina Lofthouse, 41, Emma’s best friend of 33 years, also paid tribute, describing her as “the best friend a girl could have”.
She said: “She was the first person I messaged in the morning and the last person I spoke to at night.
“I am heartbroken that my best friend is gone and that I can no longer talk to her, hug her, laugh with her and cry with her.
“Her poor daughters, husband, mother, brother and sister. As a family we are heartbroken over the loss of the best friend a girl can have. We had a friendship like no other.”
Timeline of Boxing Day horror
EMMA Lovell was stabbed on Boxing Day 2022 and later died from her injuries. Her husband Lee survived a non-fatal stab wound and their two daughters witnessed the horror events.
The family had spent Christmas Day on the beach on the Sunshine Coast that year.
They shared a smiley photo on Facebook of their day and wrote: “I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day with loved ones and friends.”
The next evening around 11:30 PM, intruders disturbed the family at home.
According to police, the parents were ‘woken by barking dogs’.
Lee said Emma checked their security app and saw the front door was open.
The couple then rushed out of their bedroom and saw two people in the house, leading to a scuffle on the porch where Emma was stabbed.
She later died in hospital and Lee survived.
Four hours later, police arrested four teenage boys nearby, later charging two of them with murder and attempted murder.
Today one of the 17-year-olds appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court to plead guilty to murder.
According to previous 7News According to reports, one of the boys accused of murder was arrested on Christmas Eve and charged with multiple crimes.
He was then released on bail on Boxing Day, despite police objections, hours before Emma was murdered.
One of the boys involved is also reportedly responsible for the stabbing of a man at another home in Brisbane in 2021.
He was charged with attempted murder, convicted and since released.
The social media of gangs operating in the area at the time was full of gang signs and photos of themselves posing with machetes, cash and drugs, and bragging about their crimes.
And the Courier mail said one of the teens allegedly involved in the Boxing Day murder posted videos of himself and others driving around in luxury stolen cars just days before her death.
The group filmed themselves reaching speeds of up to 130mph before posing in front of an Audi and a Porsche with gang signs and handfuls of cash in hand.
The most recent video was shared on social media a week ago.
The four boys involved in the killing also lived in a nearby shelter for juvenile delinquents — and had caused trouble in the weeks before, police said. Daily email.
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