June 4th 2024.
The man on trial for the murder of young schoolgirl Charlise Mutten has stated that the inconsistencies in his story are due to his confusion over certain details, such as when exactly the nine-year-old was killed. Justin Stein has pleaded not guilty to the crime, claiming that it was actually Charlise's mother, Kallista Mutten, who pulled the trigger. The heartbreaking case made headlines in January of 2022 when Charlise's lifeless body was discovered by the Colo River, located northwest of Sydney. She had been shot in the head and lower back.
Stein has admitted to disposing of the girl's body and lying to the police during his initial interviews. However, he maintains that Mutten placed Charlise's body in the barrel on the back of his ute without his knowledge. But, phone calls between Stein and his mother, Annemie, while he was in jail, revealed different versions of events than what he had testified in court. When confronted about these discrepancies, Stein acknowledged that there were errors in the phone calls, including the incorrect time of night when he claimed Charlise was shot and when he became aware of her body being in the barrel.
During the trial, the prosecution suggested that Stein had changed his story after reading a police report that contradicted his timeline. Stein admitted that there was a mistake in his account and attributed it to confusion. He also mentioned that the day after Mutten allegedly killed her daughter, he was caught on camera purchasing bags of sand from Bunnings. He claimed that the sand was for a patio he was planning to resurface. However, in a phone call with his mother, Stein said that Mutten had told him Charlise was in the barrel while he was still at Bunnings. When questioned about this, he admitted that he was unsure why he said that and attributed it to confusion.
Charlise had been visiting Mutten and Stein, who were in a relationship at the time, during the Christmas period. They split their time between Stein's mother's property in Mount Wilson and a caravan at the Riviera Ski Park, located about 90 minutes away. According to prosecutors, Charlise spent the night alone with Stein at the Mount Wilson property on January 11, and he killed her either that evening or the following day.
During his testimony, Stein admitted to spending that night with Charlise at the property, but he maintained that she was alive the next day. He claimed that all three of them traveled to pick Mutten up from the caravan before heading to Sydney. According to Stein, they returned to Mount Wilson on the evening of January 12, and he was working in a shed on the property when he heard a gunshot. He said that when he went outside, he heard Charlise screaming "mummy, no," followed by another gunshot.
Mutten has denied any involvement in her daughter's death and became emotional when Stein's lawyer accused her during her own testimony. The trial is ongoing, and the truth behind Charlise's tragic death is yet to be fully uncovered.
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