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 granted special leave to appeal the sentence of a teenager who fatally stabbed a mother-of-two to death on Boxing Day to the High Court, after a reduction to the killer’s sentence sparked outrage. Emma Lovell, 41, was fatally stabbed to death by a teenager, then aged 17, who broke into her North Lakes home, north of Brisbane, on December 26, 2022. He was jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to murder. Brisbane Supreme Court ordered he serve 60 per cent of his sentence — or eight years and five months — after the judge found the murder was “particularly heinous”. But his non-parole period was reduced on appeal, effectively resulting in the killer teen’s time in custody being cut short by more than 20 months. On Friday, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington announced special leave had been granted by the High Court of Australia to hear a subsequent appeal against the teenager’s sentence. “As Attorney-General, I am determined to pursue all available legal options to seek justice for the Lovell family,” Ms Frecklington said in a statement. “Emma Lovell was a loving mother whose life was brutally stolen on her own front lawn. “The sentence was handed down under the former Labor government’s laws. Had the LNP’s Adult Crime, Adult Time regime been in place, the mandatory sentence would have been life imprisonment.” A hearing date has not been set. Ms Lovell’s death sparked outrage across 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 count of manslaughter and a charge of malicious act with intent following a judge-only Supreme Court trial in October 2024. He walked free from court in December after pleading guilty to assault and burglary. CCTV from the Lovell’s family home captured both teens entering through the unlocked front door on the morning of the incident. A brawl erupted after Ms Lovell and her husband, Lee, confronted the intruders. Ms Lovell suffered a fatal wound when the primary offender punctured her heart with a large knife, with Mr Lovell also being stabbed and kicked by the same child.