Emma Lovell murder: Australian teen jailed for 14 years for stabbing British mother in the heart

An Australian teenager who stabbed a British woman to death has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for murder.

Emma Lovell, 41, a mother of two, was attacked in her home in North Lakes in Queensland on Boxing Day holiday in 2022, when police say two teenage boys broke into her house.

Lovell confronted the duo along with her husband and died of a stab wound to the heart.

Brisbane’s Supreme Court sentenced the teenage attacker on Monday. He is now 19 years old but will not be named as he was a minor when the offence was committed.

Justice Tom Sullivan said that the murder of the British woman was a “particularly heinous” crime.

He described the victims as a “loving family” who were building a life for themselves in a new country.

“They were ordinary citizens enjoying their family life in their home where they were entitled to feel safe. What happened... violated that entirely,” Justice Sullivan said.

Lovell and her husband Lee migrated from Suffolk to Brisbane with their daughters in 2011. Her husband was also injured in the attack.