Judge considers verdict in British mum murder case

A judge has retired to consider a verdict on a second teenager accused over the killing of a British woman during a break-in at her home in Australia.

Emma Lovell, 41, was stabbed when allegedly confronting two intruders in Brisbane on Boxing Day in 2022.

Another teenager admitted murder earlier this year and was jailed for 14 years.

A judge-only trial heard it had been accepted the second defendant, aged 17 at the time of the attack, did not commit any of the violent acts himself, ABC in Australia reports.

Mother-of-two Mrs Lovell emigrated from Ipswich in 2011 with her daughters and her husband Lee, who was also injured in the attack.

In the latest trial, the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also pleaded not guilty to armed break-in as well as malicious acts and assault occasioning bodily harm on Mr Lovell, who was kicked and then stabbed in the back, according to Nine news.

Justice Michael Copley will have to consider whether the second defendant was aware the other boy was carrying a knife.

The prosecution has argued the second defendant is liable for Mrs Lovell's murder as the pair intended to break into the home while armed and there was the potential they could endanger human life.

However, the teenager's defence team claimed he had no knowledge of the knife.

The judge said he aimed to return a verdict by early November.

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