Prosecutors have urged a jury to find that Charlise Mutten was drugged and shot dead by Justin Stein, describing her version of what happened to the schoolgirl as “nonsense.”
Stein, 33, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the nine-year-old girl in January 2022, claiming that it was the girl’s mother, Kallista Mutten, who shot her.
Charlise’s body was found dumped next to the Colo River, northwest of Sydney, four days after she disappeared, with gunshot wounds to her head and lower back.
Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC told jurors during his closing speech on Wednesday that prosecutors did not have to prove a motive.
However, he invited them to find that Stein shot and killed Charlise because he was worried they would discover that he had given her antipsychotic medication.
Toxicology results revealed that Charlise had traces of the drug Seroquel, for which Stein had a prescription to treat schizophrenia, in her system.
An adult dose of the drug would have a profound sedative effect on a child, the court was previously told.
Charlise Mutten’s body was found dumped next to the Colo River, northwest of Sydney, four days after she disappeared, with gunshot wounds to her head and lower back.
Justin Stein, 33, pleaded not guilty to the murder of the nine-year-old girl in January 2022, claiming that it was the girl’s mother, Kallista Mutten, who shot her.
Charlise had been visiting her mother and Stein, who were in a relationship at the time, over Christmas.
The group spent their time between a Mount Wilson property owned by Stein’s mother and a camper at the Riviera Ski Park, about a 90-minute drive away.
Prosecutors allege Charlise spent the night alone with Stein at the Mount Wilson property on Jan. 11 and he killed her that night or the next day.
To convict Stein, the jury must be convinced that there was no reasonable possibility that Mutten would shoot his own daughter, McKay said.
During his testimony Monday, Stein agreed that he spent the night of Jan. 11 at the property with Charlise, but said the girl was alive the next day.
According to Stein, Charlise traveled with him to collect Mutten from the caravan before the three went to Sydney.
He said they returned to Mount Wilson together in the evening.
Phone records show that Stein called his mother at 8:59 p.m. on January 12 and spoke with her for several minutes, which both Stein and his mother agree occurred.
It is also not in dispute that Ms Mutten searched for hospitals in the area on her phone at around 9.21pm and then made calls to Lithgow Hospital and Blue Mountains Hospital.
In the short period between those two events, Stein said Mrs. Mutten shot her daughter and moved the body.
He said that after speaking with his mother, he checked on Charlise before working on a car in a shed on the property.
According to Stein’s account, he heard a gunshot and came out of the shed to see Mrs. Mutten shooting her daughter a second time.
Stein said Ms Mutten demanded he get a tarp from the shed, which he said took up to 10 minutes.
Charlise had been visiting her mother Kallista Mutten (pictured) and Stein, who were in a relationship at the time, over Christmas.
When he returned, both Mutten and Charlise were gone, he said.
“That version is just nonsense,” Mr. McKay told the jury.
McKay said Mutten called local hospitals because she believed her daughter was missing and not because the woman had just shot her.
“If you were thinking, ‘Oh, you better get him medical help,’ you’d hit triple zero,” he said.
“But when you call a hospital, a children’s hospital, you look to see if there’s anyone there.”
During cross-examination Tuesday, McKay told Stein that he had murdered Charlise after giving her Seroquel.
Stein denied the claim, saying, “I never touched her.”
The trial continues.
