June 19th 2024.
After weeks of intense deliberation, a jury has reached a verdict in the case of Justin Stein, who was on trial for the murder of nine-year-old Charlise Mutten. The young girl's body was found dumped in a barrel by a river outside of Sydney, sending shockwaves through the community.
At the time of her death, Stein was in a relationship with Charlise's mother, Kallista Mutten. He maintained that Kallista was the one responsible for her daughter's death, but the jury ultimately found him guilty of the crime. The trial lasted four weeks and the jury spent nearly two weeks deliberating before delivering their verdict this morning.
Charlise's body was discovered near the Colo River, located northwest of Sydney, on January 18th, 2022. She had been shot in the face and lower back. The young girl had been visiting her mother and Stein from the Gold Coast, where she lived with her grandparents.
During the trial, Stein admitted to dumping Charlise's body, but claimed that he had no knowledge of how she died. He alleged that Kallista shot her daughter and placed her body in the barrel without his consent. However, Kallista denied any involvement in her daughter's death and broke down in tears when faced with the accusation in court.
At the time of Charlise's visit, the trio split their time between a property owned by Stein's mother in Mount Wilson, in the Blue Mountains, and a caravan at the Riviera Ski Park, which was about a 90-minute drive away. On January 11th, Charlise spent the night alone with Stein at Mount Wilson while her mother stayed at the caravan.
Prosecutors argued that it was during this time that Stein killed the young girl. Toxicology reports showed that Charlise had traces of the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel in her system, which Stein had a prescription for to treat his schizophrenia. The jury heard that an adult dose of this drug would have a sedating effect on a child.
Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC told the jury that it was possible Stein killed Charlise when she became ill after he gave her the drug, which he denied doing. Stein claimed that he went along with a plan to cover up the murder, including lying to the police about leaving Charlise in the care of a woman who was valuing property at the Mount Wilson estate.
However, when he found out that Charlise's body was in a barrel on the back of his ute, Stein panicked and ultimately disposed of her remains. He also mentioned that he was unaware of her death until the next day.
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