A group of young would-be thieves has struck mere metres from where Queensland mother Emma Lovell was stabbed to death on Boxing Day 2022.
Emma’s widower, Lee Lovell, told 9News he was baffled they had hit so close to home, as police step up their hunt for those responsible.
In the early hours of the morning, teenagers in ski masks burst into the property at North Lakes in the Moreton Bay region, north of Brisbane.
They were in and out within minutes, leaving empty handed but terrifying those inside.
Victim Sarah Brown said it was “very unnerving”.
The home they targeted is next door to Mr Lovell’s.
It was in the front yard on Boxing Day 2022 that Ms Lovell was stabbed to death by a teenager.
Mr Lovell said it “brings back a lot of fears of what happened that night.”
“I suppose you just think, ‘You know it’s happened to us once it just won’t happen in this area again’ but obviously people don’t know what’s happened here and don’t care,” he said.
“There’s no consequence to the actions they’re doing, they can be locked up one day and be out the next.”
Mr Lovell’s neighbours are equally frightened.
“You don’t know if they’re armed if they’re going to hurt you or hurt your kids so very unnerving,” one said.
Security cameras captured the group’s repeated attempts to break into properties on nearby streets.
Police believe they targeted several homes including Mr Lovell’s neighbours in North Lakes before continuing their spree in nearby Mango Hill.
Detectives are investigating whether break-ins from earlier this week are linked to the spree.
Teenagers wielded a mallet and a butcher’s knife at Bridgeman Downs and tried to force their way into a family home before stealing a Lexus and speeding through Brisbane tunnels at close to 240km/h.
They posted their getaway to social media.
Two Gold Coast boys aged 13 and 14 were hit with a string of charges.
Several others remain on the run.
