Lee Lovell’s agonizing wait after his wife was stabbed to death in a case that shocked Australia

The husband of a woman stabbed to death during a home invasion has described his nervous wait to find out whether a teenager will be convicted of her murder.

Mother-of-two Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed to death on the lawn outside her home in North Lakes, north of Brisbane, after midnight on December 27, 2022, during a home invasion allegedly carried out by two 17 year old boys.

One of the young men, now 18, this week pleaded not guilty to murder at the start of his judge-only trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.

Judge Michael Copley on Wednesday, after the end of the three-day trial, said he would deliver verdicts “as quickly as possible” and before the beginning of November.

The young man also pleaded not guilty to armed burglary, as well as malicious acts and assault occasioning bodily harm to Mrs Lovell’s husband, Lee.

Lovell said outside court that he wanted to see the same result achieved by another teenager accused of home invasion, who pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 14 years in prison in May.

“The last time was just the sentence. This time it was the trial. It was stressful. I was so nervous,” Lovell said.

The defendant who was tried did not directly participate in the violence, but was charged with murder based on allegations that he knew his partner was armed with a knife.

Emma Lovell was killed in a home invasion in December 2022, stabbed to death on her lawn

Lovell said the teenager on trial should be held responsible for his wife’s murder

Lovell said the teenager should be held responsible for his wife’s murder.

‘My guesses with a jury, there would have been a more emotional aspect to it and it would have been in our favor. As long as the judge is fair, I suppose, you’ll have to go along with it,” he said.

The outcome will largely depend on Judge Copley’s interpretation of a few seconds of security camera footage taken from a camera above the Lovells’ front door.

The footage shows the accused teenager entering the Lovell home at 11.30pm on Boxing Day, with a Christmas wreath hanging on the door and decorative lights in the front garden.

Crown prosecutor David Nardone previously said the footage also showed the defendant looking at his partner’s knife, which was inches from his face.

Lovell said it was difficult not to become a ‘bitter, grieving husband’ after his wife’s death

Defense lawyer Laura Reece said the Lovells’ camera was operating in infrared mode at the time and the area would have appeared much darker to human vision and there was a suggestion her client was looking away from the knife.

Reece, in his closing speech on Wednesday, said there was audio captured on a neighbor’s security camera that showed his client trying to stop his group’s “gratuitous” stabbing and kicking of Mr. Lovell.

Lovell, outside the courtroom, said he felt no anger toward his wife’s alleged killer as he sat near the courtroom during the trial.

“It’s hard not to become a bitter, anguished husband who holds onto anger all the time. You have to move on with your life. Be a positive person for children,” he said.