Emma had just enjoyed Boxing Day with her kids. Then she heard someone breaking through the door.

After the magic of Christmas and the joyful aftermath of Boxing Day, Emma Lovell and her husband, Lee, spent the evening of December 26, 2022, in the comfort of their own home. 

By 11.30pm the couple was asleep. So were their two teenage daughters, Kassie and Scarlett. They thought they were safe. 

As the family lay sleeping in their North Lakes home in Queensland, two teenage boys approached their home. 

One boy checked if the door was unlocked. It was. 

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He gave a thumbs up to another boy, who quickly joined him. The second boy was holding a knife close to his chest. 

The Lovells heard a noise from their bed. Scared, they approached the two 17-year-olds, before pushing them out onto their front lawn – an attempt to protect their home, their daughters. 

The four struggled. Then the boy with the knife decided to use it. He stabbed Lee in the back. He stabbed Emma in the chest, with such force the blade snapped. 

By the time police and ambulance arrived, Kassie and Scarlett were standing over their mother, sobbing. 

Paramedics performed open-heart surgery on the front lawn in an attempt to save Emma's life. 

But the 41-year-old mother died from the fatal stab wound. 

"Free to leave."

In May, the boy with the knife was jailed for 14 years, after pleading guilty to several charges, including murder and malicious acts with intent. He has appealed his sentence.

In October, the second teenage boy, who was charged as a party to that offending, was found not guilty of the two most serious offences. 

Not satisfied the boy knew his co-defendant had a knife, Justice Michael Copley instead convicted him for burglary in company and assault occasioning bodily harm in company. 

On Wednesday, the now 19-year-old - who suffers cognitive impairments and grew up exposed to family violence and drugs – faced sentencing. 

Justice Copley sentenced the teenager to 18 months in detention and recorded a conviction for three of the 21 offences, including those related to the Lovell break-in.

With time already served, he was free to leave court.

"Took away our sense of safety."

Reading his victim impact statement in person, Lee said "A night of unimaginable tragedy started when you decided to enter my home."

"We made our home a place of love and protection ... the actions of you and your co-offender took away our sense of safety," he said. 

"I still wake up at night fearing that someone is in our house again, constantly checking the cameras to make sure.

"Sleep is a problem. I wake up thinking someone is inside my home."

Outside court, Lee said the sentence was hard to take. 

"It doesn't feel like we have much of a justice system at all," he said.

Feature image: Facebook.