May 27th 2024.
During a court hearing, it was revealed that Justin Stein, who stands accused of murder, had attacked Charlise Mutten's mother and threatened her in order to prevent her from calling the police. The nine-year-old schoolgirl had been missing and her body was later found by the police in a barrel near the Blue Mountains' Colo River. Stein, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder, is currently on trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
The trial entered its third week and on Monday, Charlise's mother, Kallista Mutten, appeared in the witness box for the first time. She shared that on January 12, the day prosecutors claim Stein committed the murder, he had told her that Charlise was sick and that he had left her in the care of a woman who was valuing antique items at the Mount Wilson property where they were staying. Believing that her daughter was being taken care of, Mutten said she had traveled with Stein to Sydney where they had both bought and injected methamphetamine.
However, when there was no sign of the auctioneer or Charlise the next day, Mutten and Stein had an argument and she left the property in his car. This resulted in Stein reporting the vehicle as stolen to the police. Mutten then returned to the property after about 30 minutes to an hour and tried to hide from Stein in a shed. However, he found her and physically assaulted her, leaving her with bruises and scrapes.
Mutten tearfully shared that Stein had later mentioned that the auctioneer he had left Charlise with may not have been who he thought she was and that the girl's disappearance could be connected to his past criminal associations. In a desperate attempt to find her daughter, Mutten had suggested going to the police, but Stein had warned her not to do so as it would put Charlise's life in danger. Stein then left the property to look for the girl himself, taking a boat with him to potentially dispose of any evidence that could implicate him.
According to the prosecutors, Stein had transported Charlise's body in the barrel on the back of his ute and had spent several hours traveling to different boat ramps in Sydney before returning to the Blue Mountains to dump the barrel. Mutten had earlier testified that she had hopes of marrying Stein and during Charlise's visit, the schoolgirl had referred to him as "dad" or "daddy".
On January 11, Mutten had stayed at a caravan park while Charlise had traveled with Stein to Mount Wilson. Stein had told Mutten that he needed to go back to the property to meet the auctioneer who was supposed to value some items the next day. Mutten had allowed Charlise to go with Stein and the young girl had even asked her mother for permission to do so. The trial is ongoing, with more evidence and testimonies expected to be presented.
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