Australian teen jailed for 14 years for Ipswich mum's murder
Emma Lovell emigrated to Australia from Suffolk in 2011
An Australian teenagers will spend 14 years in prison for the murder of a British mother.
41 year old Emma Lovell, who was from Ipswich, was killed on Boxing Day in 2022 when confronting intruders in her home in Brisbane, Australia.
She'd emigrated to Australia from Suffolk in 2011 with her husband Lee, who was also injured, but survived the attack, and their two daughters.
The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age (he was 17 at the time), pleaded guilty to her murder earlier this year.
He also admitted to three other charges of assault and burglary.
Now 19, the teenager was sentenced at Brisbane's Supreme Court on Monday afternoon (local time).
Justice Tom Sullivan described the crime as "a particularly heinous offence", saying: "The Lovells were ordinary citizens enjoying their family life in their home where they were entitled to feel safe.
"What occurred on that Boxing Day evening violated that entirely."
A second teenager arrested is yet to enter pleas.
What happened?
The court heard the two boys broke into Ms Lovell's house in North Lakes in the state of Queensland on Boxing Day in 2022.
Ms Lovell and her husband confronted the teenagers, getting them out into the garden.
There, Ms Lovell was stabbed in the chest with an 11.5cm knife.
Paramedics carried out open heart surgery at the house before taking her to hospital, where she died shortly after arriving.
"Better life"
Originally from Hasketon, Mrs Lovell moved to Australia to have the chance to have a "better life" for her family, her brother David Angel told the BBC.
Mrs Lovell's death prompted outrage across Queensland and was one of many high-profile crimes that saw the state introduce stricter youth crime laws in 2023.
It is now a criminal offence in Queensland if a child breaches bail conditions.
Children as young as 15 can also be fitted with GPS trackers, and the courts now have the authority to declare youths as serious repeat offenders in certain circumstances.