The grandfather of Charlise Mutten, who was allegedly shot dead by her mother’s partner, told the court that the student hoped her alleged killer “would be a good father.”
Justin Laurens Stein, 33, faces trial at the NSW Supreme Court in Parramatta after pleading not guilty to murder.
He is accused of murdering the nine-year-old girl, daughter of his ex-partner Kallista Mutten, on her parents’ property, before dumping her body in a plastic barrel in the Colo River area.
Charlise’s grandfather, Clinton Mutten Sr., with whom she lived at the time, was the first witness to testify at the trial and told the court that his granddaughter showed potential in school.
Mutten told the court that Charlise had lived with her mother for the first four years of her life, before her grandparents informally took custody of her.
“Kallista realized she was not providing adequate care and was very happy for Charlise to come live with us,” she told the court.
The grandfather of Charlise Mutten, who was allegedly shot dead by her mother’s partner, told the court the schoolgirl hoped her alleged killer “would be a good father”.
Justin Laurens Stein, 33, faces trial at the NSW Supreme Court in Parramatta after pleading not guilty to murder.
The jury was told Ms Mutten had used the drug ice, or methylamphetamine, since she was at least 20 years old.
He later went to prison for dangerous driving causing the death of a passenger, where he met Mr Stein, who was serving time for drug trafficking, the jury was told.
Mutten told the jury that Charlise had excelled in school, loved to read and was “self-motivated” when it came to extracurricular activities.
He said Charlise loved animals and spent the two years talking about her dreams of becoming a veterinarian.
During this time, Charlise was on video calls with her mother, and Mutton described their relationship as “unconditional and very loving.”
Mutten told the court that Charlise sometimes cried because she missed her mother.
“She said she really liked Justin and asked me if I thought he would be a good father,” Mutten told the court.
He said Charlise was “excited” to travel to New South Wales to spend the Christmas and school holidays with her mother, and assumed both her daughter and Mr Stein were not using drugs at the time.
Mutten talked about the last time he spoke to Charlise, a week before her death.
“She insisted on talking to me while I was cooking and had my hands full and she showed me her new haircut,” he told the court.
‘Via FaceTime on the phone, she was playing with a little white dog and was on the Mount Wilson property.
“He was in a very good mood and happy… he told me he loved me.”
Stein is accused of murdering the nine-year-old girl, daughter of his ex-partner Kallista Mutten (pictured), on her parents’ property before dumping her body.
The crown prosecutor told the court that Stein had told Mutten and her mother that he was looking for Charlise but was buying sand to weigh her body.
Stein is accused of shooting the nine-year-old girl twice, in the head and lower back, and dumping her body in a plastic barrel.
During opening arguments, the jury of five women and 10 men was told that Stein had pretended to be looking for Charlise, while actually trying to dispose of the girl’s body in January 2022.
The schoolgirl had flown to Sydney on December 21, 2021 to spend Christmas and New Year with her mother and Mr Stein.
Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC alleges Stein was the “last person” to see Charlise, who at the time was being treated for schizophrenia and heroin addiction.
He said Stein had told Mutten and his mother that he was looking for Charlise on January 13, but he allegedly left Mount Wilson with a barrel under a tarp in the back of the ute, as well as towing his boat.
He went to Bunnings and allegedly bought five 20kg sandbags, most of which were later found in the barrel with the girl’s body, the jury was told.
With the girl’s body allegedly stuffed in a barrel in the back of the truck and hidden under a tarp, McKay told the jury that Stein stopped at a 7/11 where he bought a can of Coke, Snickers and a slush before putting more than $120 worth of gas into a boat he was towing.
The nine-year-old girl was visiting her mother during the school holidays when she was killed and was missing for three days.
Stein later Googled ‘Colo River’ and allegedly dumped the barrel containing the boy’s body down an embankment before returning to Mount Wilson at 4:22 a.m. on January 15.
The jury was later told that Stein Googled ‘Colo River’ and allegedly threw the barrel down an embankment before returning to Mount Wilson at 4:22 a.m. on January 15.
The barrel was found on January 18 buried in foliage halfway up the embankment, and a toxicology report showed that Charlise tested positive for Stein’s schizophrenia medication.
Defense lawyer Carolyn Davenport SC told the jury her client told “various versions” of what happened to the boy to protect her ex-partner.
“Charlise was murdered… by her mother… near a chicken coop on the property,” Mrs Davenport told the jury.
“He didn’t know what happened to the boy, he got rid of the body… he didn’t put the body in the barrel but he did get rid of it.”
The jury was told Ms Mutten will be a witness at the trial.
The trial before Judge Helen Wilson continues.
