Heartbroken husband’s fury as teen burglar is cleared of murdering his British spouse Emma Lovell, 41, throughout Boxing Day break in that shocked Australia

A grieving husband has shared his fury after a teenage burglar was cleared of murdering his wife during a Boxing Day break in that shocked Australia.

Emma Lovell, 41, who emigrated from Ipswich to Brisbane in 2011 with her husband Lee and two daughters, was killed outside her North Lakes home on Boxing Day in 2022 while fending off two 17-year-old intruders.

The mother died of a single stab wound to her heart and another man, who cannot be named because he was under 18 at the time of the attack, was jailed for 14 years in May after pleading guilty to her murder. 

Lee Lovell previously revealed that he did not ‘feel like just has been served’ after the sentencing. 

Now, a second man, who was 17 at the time of the attack and also cannot be named, has been cleared of murder.

Justice Michael Copley, who heard the case without a jury, found the man not guilty of manslaughter on Thursday and not guilty of malicious act with intent at Brisbane’s Supreme Court.

He was found guilty of one count of burglary by break in the night in company, and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in company.

‘I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was a party to this murder,’ the judge said. 

Mr Lovell was visibly distressed after the verdict, which he claimed robbed his late late wife of justice.

‘You can’t appeal a judge-only trial, so I’ve just got to suck it up,’ he told reporters outside court.

‘I feel like I’m slightly wasting my time coming along for a burglary charge.’

He also claimed families were ‘the ones having to live with this afterwards and they [perpetrators of crime] get to carry on doing whatever they are doing’.

Mr and Mrs Lovell, who are both British, moved to Australia from Suffolk in 2011 after first visiting the country in 2002.

In his sentencing remarks in the original trial, Justice Tom Sullivan said Mrs Lovell was described as ‘an energetic and beloved mother, wife, daughter, and sister’.

The court heard the couple had attempted to fend off the intruders after they had been woken by their dogs barking at about 11.30pm.

Mr Lovell was also stabbed during a ‘physical struggle directly outside the front door’ which then moved to the front lawn, where his wife was fatally stabbed.

The mother-of-two, originally from Hasketon, moved to Australia to have the chance to have a ‘better life’ for her family, according to her brother David Angel, who spoke to the BBC.

Mrs Lovell and her family celebrated Christmas Day 2022 by eating a special meal at the local beach, a day before she was stabbed to death at her house in North Lakes in the state of Queensland on Boxing Day. 

Her husband wrote in a Facebook post on Christmas Day 2022, the day before she died: ‘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 wounded in the chest. She was resuscitated but died later in hospital.

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 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.

‘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.’

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.

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.

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 also 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. 

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.

‘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.’