A woman died after being stabbed during a robbery attempt on December 26 in Australia. Local police arrested two teenage boys and charged them with murder.
Emma Lovell, 41, received fatal stabbing wounds to her chest in her front yard after the boys allegedly broke into her home on Monday night. Paramedics tried to save her life by performing emergency surgery at the crime scene, but doctors pronounced her dead after she arrived at the hospital.
The Queensland Police Department released a statement announcing they had arrested two 17-year-old boys and charged them with murder, attempted murder, and entering a home with intent to commit a crime.
The suspects, who police have not publicly identified, were denied bail and will appear in Brisbane Children’s Court.
Police also arrested two other teenage boys, aged 17 and 16, in connection with the murder, who are cooperating with investigators. All four boys have had several run-ins with the police in the past.
According to the statement, police allege that the two 17-year-olds entered the home at around 11:30 pm on December 26, and Lovell and her husband confronted them. They got into a fight inside the house and eventually moved the argument to the home’s front yard.
At some point during the altercation, Mrs. Lovell was fatally stabbed. Her husband, Lee Lovell, 43, was also stabbed, although his wounds were not life-threatening. Responding officers took him to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he was treated and later discharged.
The two intruders fled the home before law enforcement officers arrived. Police searched for them using their dog squad, and they located the four teens near the home at around 4 am on December 27.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Lovell said that he and his family were devastated by his wife’s senseless death. He described her as the glue that held his family together.