Emma Lovell’s teenage murderer was free despite 84 convictions

The teen who murdered Emma Lovell had never spent a day in custody despite an astonishing number of previous convictions.

• ‘Heinous’: Sickening final act
• Revealed: Killer’s life behind bars

The teenager who murdered mother-of-two Emma Lovell after breaking into her home with a knife had previously been convicted of 84 offences but never spent a day in custody.

Instead, he repeatedly breached probation orders even while undergoing court-ordered weekly sessions in a research-based program called Changing Habits and Reaching Targets.

Now aged 19, the teen was 17 with a lengthy criminal history when he broke into the Lovell family’s home at North Lakes in the City of Moreton Bay.

He was this week given one of the longest prison terms of any juvenile offender, after Justice Tom Sullivan sentenced him to 14 years’ jail with a non-parole period of nearly 10 years.

Mrs Lovell was stabbed through the heart outside her home after she and her husband Lee woke on the night of Boxing Day 2022 to find intruders in their home.

The teen was one of two who entered the Lovell home after finding the front door unlocked.

The court was shown shocking footage from the property’s CCTV cameras of the couple wrestling the teens from their home, resulting in a violent scuffle in the front yard.

Emma and Lee Lovell with their daughters

The teen, carrying a knife with an 11.5cm blade, thrust it several times at the couple before stabbing Mrs Lovell through the heart.

He also stabbed her husband in the back before kicking him in the face multiple times as he lay on the ground.

In detailed sentencing remarks, the Supreme Court heard the teen was a serial burglar and car thief whose offending started when he was aged 15.

Justice Sullivan noted that none of the youth’s convictions involved violence.

He said of the 84 offences, 16 involved break-ins or attempted break-ins.

Two of those were at homes where people were inside.

“On one occasion, you were confronted by an owner and you fled,” Justice Sullivan said.

“On another occasion, you were confronted by a dog inside the home.

“Commonly, the purpose of your unlawful entry was to obtain car keys to allow you the use of cars which would then be stolen.”

He said 11 counts of the teen’s criminal record related to breaking into or stealing cars.

“You were not placed into custody in respect of any of the 84 offences,” Justice Sullivan said.

He said the teen was given a three-month probation order in July 2021, a nine-month probation order in February 2022, a six-month probation order in May and another six-month probation order in July.

Police at the scene of Emma Lovell’s murder

“During each of those probation periods, you attended weekly with the relevant youth justice case worker for 45 minutes to an hour to participate in a module-based program known as Changing Habits and Reaching Targets,” Justice Sullivan said.

“This was a research-based program, which sought to directly target your property offending behaviours, with a view to reducing your future offending.”

Justice Sullivan said the fact that the teen was subject to multiple probation orders when he murdered Mrs Lovell contributed to him determining the crime was “particularly heinous” – allowing him to sentence beyond the maximum of 10 years

“This offence was committed whilst you were the subject of more than one probation order,” he said.

“It is relevant that this offending occurred whilst you were on probation.”

The teen’s co-offender is yet to enter a plea.

Outside court, Mr Lovell said no sentence would ever bring back his wife.

“I suppose it was good to get 14 years. But it’s never going to be enough, it’s never going to bring her back,” he said.