Qld’s Attorney-General granted special leave to appeal sentence of teen who murdered Emma Lovell to High Court of Australia
Queensland’s attorney general has been given special permission to appeal the sentence of a teenager who fatally stabbed a mother of two to death on Boxing Day to the Supreme Court after a reduction in the killer’s sentence sparked outrage.
Emma Lovell, 41, was fatally stabbed to death by a teenager, then 17, who broke into her home in North Lakes, north of Brisbane, on December 26, 2022.
He was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder.
The Supreme Court in Brisbane ordered him to serve 60 per cent of his sentence – eight years and five months – after the judge ruled the murder was “particularly heinous”.
However, his non-parole period was shortened on appeal, resulting in the teen killer’s time in custody being reduced by more than 20 months.
On Friday, Attorney General Deb Frecklington announced that the High Court of Australia had granted special leave to hear an appeal against the teenager’s sentence.
“As attorney general, I am committed to pursuing all legal options available to seek justice for the Lovell family,” Ms. Frecklington said in a statement.
“Emma Lovell was a loving mother whose life was brutally stolen in her own front yard.
“The sentence was imposed under the laws of the former Labor government. If the LNP’s Adult Crime, Adult Time regime had existed, the mandatory sentence would have been life imprisonment.”
A hearing date has not been set.
Ms Lovell’s death sparked outrage in Queensland and renewed calls for a wider crackdown on high-profile youth crime incidents across the state.
A second teenager, who did not inflict the fatal wound, was found not guilty of murder, the alternative charge of manslaughter and the charge of intentional malicious act following a judge-only trial in the High Court in October 2024.
He was released from court in December after pleading guilty to assault and burglary.
Security cameras at Lovell’s family home recorded both teenagers entering through the unlocked front door the morning of the incident.
A brawl broke out after Mrs Lovell and her husband Lee confronted the intruders.
Miss Lovell received a fatal wound when the real culprit pierced her heart with a large knife; Mr Lovell was also stabbed and kicked by the same boy.
