June 5th 2024.
The prosecutors in the courtroom were adamant in their plea to the jury to find Justin Stein guilty of drugging and fatally shooting Charlise Mutten. They described his version of events as "nonsense" and urged the jury to see through his lies. Stein, who is 33 years old, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the nine-year-old girl in January 2022. He claims that it was Charlise's mother, Kallista Mutten, who shot her.
Charlise's body was discovered near the Colo River, northwest of Sydney, four days after she went missing. She had been shot in the head and lower back. The court was told that Charlise had been visiting her mother and Stein, who were in a relationship at the time, over Christmas. They had spent their time between Stein's mother's property in Mount Wilson and a caravan at the Riviera Ski Park, which was about a 90-minute drive away.
During his closing address, Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC emphasized that they did not have to prove a motive for the murder. However, he invited the jury to consider the possibility that Stein killed Charlise out of fear of being caught for giving her anti-psychotic drugs. It was revealed through toxicology results that Charlise had traces of Seroquel, a drug prescribed to treat schizophrenia, in her system. The court was informed that a child would have a strong sedating effect from an adult dose of the drug.
The prosecutors alleged that Charlise had spent the night alone with Stein at the Mount Wilson property on January 11 and he had killed her either that night or the next day. In order to convict Stein, the jury had to be convinced that there was no reasonable possibility that Mutten had shot her own daughter, as stated by McKay. During his testimony on Monday, Stein admitted to spending the night of January 11 with Charlise at the property but claimed that she was alive the next day.
Stein's account of what happened was that he and Charlise had picked up Mutten from the caravan before all three of them went to Sydney. They then returned to Mount Wilson in the evening. Phone records showed that Stein had called his mother at 8:59pm on January 12 and spoke to her for a few minutes, which was confirmed by both Stein and his mother. It was also established that Mutten had searched for hospitals in the area on her phone at 9:21pm and later made calls to two hospitals.
In the short period between the two events, Stein claimed that Mutten had shot her daughter and moved the body. He said that after talking to his mother, he checked on Charlise and then went to work on a car in a shed on the property. According to Stein, he heard a gunshot and when he went to investigate, he saw Mutten shooting Charlise for a second time. Stein alleged that Mutten then asked him to get a tarp from the shed, which took him around 10 minutes. When he returned, both Mutten and Charlise were gone.
McKay expressed his disbelief in Stein's version of events and told the jury that it was simply "nonsense." He urged them to consider the timeline and the actions of Mutten, who had called local hospitals after her daughter went missing. He argued that this was not consistent with the belief that Mutten had just shot her daughter, as one would typically call emergency services in that situation. He also pointed out that Mutten had searched for children's hospitals, indicating that she was looking for her daughter, not seeking medical assistance for her.
During cross-examination, McKay accused Stein of murdering Charlise after giving her Seroquel. Stein vehemently denied this, stating, "I never touched her." The trial is ongoing and the jury is yet to deliver their verdict. Stay updated on all the latest breaking news, celebrity gossip, and sports updates by following our WhatsApp channel. The best part? No comments, no algorithm, and your private details remain private.
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