A man has been cleared of murdering a British woman who was stabbed to death during a break-in at her home in Australia.
Emma Lovell, 41, was killed in North Lakes, Queensland, on Boxing Day in 2022 while fending off two intruders.
The mother died of a single stab wound to her heart and another man, who cannot be named because he was under 18 at the time of the attack, was jailed for 14 years in May after pleading guilty to her murder.
A second man, who was 17 at the time of the attack and also cannot be named, appeared at Brisbane’s Supreme Court last week.
I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was a party to this murder
Justice Michael Copley, who heard the case without a jury, found the man not guilty of murder on Thursday, as well as a malicious act with intent and unlawful wounding.
He found the defendant guilty of burglary and assault.
“I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was a party to this murder,” the judge said.
Mrs Lovell had emigrated to Australia from Suffolk in 2011 with her husband Lee, who survived the attack, and their two daughters.
In his sentencing remarks in the original trial, Justice Tom Sullivan said Mrs Lovell was described as “an energetic and beloved mother, wife, daughter, and sister”.
The court heard the couple had attempted to fend off the intruders after they had been woken by their dogs barking at about 11.30pm.
Mr Lovell was injured during a “physical struggle directly outside the front door” which then moved to the front lawn, where his wife was fatally stabbed.
