Lee Lovell’s agonising 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 how he nervously waited to hear 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 youths, now aged 18, pleaded not guilty to murder at the start of his trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court this week.

Judge Michael Copley said Wednesday after the end of the three-day trial that he would rule “as soon as possible” and before early November.

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

Mr Lovell said outside court he wanted to see the same outcome as another teenager charged over the home invasion, who pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 14 years in prison in May.

‘Last time it was just about the conviction. This time it was the trial. It was stressful. I was so nervous,” Lovell said.

The defendant on trial did not directly participate in the violence, but was charged with murder based on claims that he knew his cohort was armed with a knife.

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

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

‘My assumptions with a jury were that there was more of an emotional aspect to it and that would have been to our advantage. As long as the judge is fair, I think, you just have to go along with it,” he said.

The outcome will depend heavily on Judge Copley’s interpretation of a few seconds of security camera footage captured by a camera above the Lovells’ front door.

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

Crown prosecutor David Nardone previously said the footage also showed the suspect looking at his cohort’s knife as it was held inches from his face.

Lovell said it’s hard not to become a “bitter, grieving husband” after his wife’s death

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

Ms Reece said in her closing address on Wednesday that audio was recorded from a neighbour’s security camera showing her client trying to stop the ‘gratuitous’ stabbing and kicking of Mr Lovell by his cohort.

Outside court, Mr Lovell said he was not angry with his wife’s alleged killer as he sat nearby in the courtroom during the trial.

“It’s hard not to turn into a bitter, grieving husband who stays angry all the time. You have to move on with your life. Be a positive person for the kids,” he said.