A man accused of murdering schoolgirl Charlise Mutten allegedly shot her twice, in the head and the side of her body, and dumped her body in a barrel, a jury was told.
Justin Laurens Stein, 33, faces trial at the NSW Supreme Court in Parramatta after pleading not guilty to murder.
He is accused of murdering Charlise, his partner’s daughter, and dumping her body in a plastic barrel.
Stein was in the dock Monday, dressed in a navy suit, a white button-down shirt and a navy tie, when he formally pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Charlise Mutten was found dead in January 2022
Justin Stein accused of murdering nine-year-old boy
The nine-year-old girl’s body was found with gunshot wounds to the head and back in bushland near the Colo River in New South Wales’ Central Tablelands in January 2022.
Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC told jurors on Monday that Stein is accused of murdering the nine-year-old girl while she was visiting Sydney over the 2021-2022 Christmas and New Year holidays.
The panel was told that Stein met Charlise’s mother, Kallista Mutten, while they were both serving separate prison sentences and that their relationship continued once they were released.
McKay told the court that Stein and Mutten “broke into a home in Mount Wilson” and stole two firearms, one of which he said is “of importance to the case” and to the murder charge.
Charlise was living with her grandparents in Tweed Heads at the time, but spent almost a month with her mother and Stein from December 21, who the panel was told was being treated for schizophrenia and heroin addiction at the time.
Stein was in a relationship with Charlise’s mother, Kallista Mutten (pictured)
While in Sydney, the panel was told Ms Mutton called triple-0 at 8.15am on January 14 and reported her daughter missing.
The nine-year-old boy was found inside a barrel in the Colo River area four days later.
“He suffered two gunshot wounds, one to the right side of his face with a projectile to the head and a gunshot wound to the lower left side of his back,” McKay told the panel.
The court was told that photographic evidence would be presented during the trial which would show Charlise “partially appearing” in the cannon on some “exterior plastic elements”.
McKay said the crown’s case is that Stein shot Charlise on January 12.
The prosecutor is expected to give a formal opening address to the jury later Monday.
Stein’s lawyer, Carolyn Davenport SC, will give an opening argument to the jury later in the week.
The trial, which is being held before Judge Helen Wilson and is expected to last six weeks, continues.