A second teenager accused of fatally stabbing a British woman during a home invasion in Australia has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Two teenage boys allegedly broke into the North Lakes, Queensland, house of Emma Lovell, 41, and stabbed her to death on Boxing Day holiday in 2022. The duo allegedly attacked Lovell and her husband when confronted.
In a judge-only trial, it was acknowledged that the second defendant, who was 17 then, did not personally commit any acts of violence, according to a report by ABC Australia.
The youth, whose identity is protected by law, also pleaded not guilty to charges of armed break-in, malicious acts and assault resulting in harm to the husband, who was reportedly kicked and stabbed in the back, according to Nine News.
Judge Michael Copley will consider whether the teenager shared a common intent to inflict harm.
The other teen admitted to the murder in March this year and was given a 14-year prison sentence.
The murder of the British woman was a “particularly heinous” crime, justice Tom Sullivan said at the time of the sentencing.
“They were ordinary citizens enjoying their family life in their home where they were entitled to feel safe. What happened… violated that entirely,” he said.
Lovell and her husband migrated from Suffolk to Brisbane with their daughters in 2011.
The stabbing took place outside their home and was captured on the family’s CCTV. The video was played in the courtroom to a gallery of people including Lovell’s two daughters, her husband and others.
The court was told that the couple were woken up by their dogs barking in their home in the suburb of North Lakes about 45km north of Brisbane. They went outside in the garden where Lovell was stabbed in the heart with an 11.5cm knife.
Police arrived on the scene to find her teenage daughters crying and calling for help before medics performed open heart surgery on the front lawn of her home.
Lovell died shortly after she was taken to hospital.
