Who shot Charlise Mutten in the face? Murder trial jury to give their verdict as accused stepdad insists the child’s own mother pulled the trigger
The jury in the murder trial of Justin Stein has retired to decide whether the 34-year-old is guilty of murdering schoolgirl Charlise Mutten, 9, by shooting her in the face.
In closing submissions on Thursday, the jury was told the issue in the case is not how the schoolgirl died, but who pulled the trigger.
Justin Stein claims that Charlise’s mother Kallista Mutten shot and killed her own daughter on January 12, 2022 around 9 p.m.
The prosecution alleges that Stein was the “last person” to see Charlise and had the opportunity to kill her between 7:16 PM on January 11 and 10:06 AM on January 12.
Charlise’s body was found on January 18, 2022 near the Colo River, northwest of Sydney, with gunshot wounds to her lower back and face, the latter being the shot that killed her.
Stein, 33, has pleaded not guilty to Charlise’s murder and claims he heard Mrs Mutten shoot her daughter, who shouted his name and then ‘Mama, no’ before she fell to the ground at the Stein family estate , Wildenstein.
Judge Helen Wilson completed her instructions and summary of evidence in the trial in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, sending the jury out to consider their verdict.
Justin Stein has been on trial for four weeks for the alleged murder of Charlise Mutten, 9, who died of a gunshot wound to the face in January 2022 while on vacation with her mother
Judge Helen Wilson told jurors that if they believed Kallista Mutten (above) shot her daughter Charlise, they should find Justin Stein not guilty.
It could take 12 days or just a few hours for a unanimous verdict to be reached after a trial that lasted two weeks shorter than expected.
Stein admitted dumping Charlise’s body, but he said Mrs. Mutten shot her daughter and placed her body in a barrel on the back of his body without his knowledge.
Mrs Mutten denied any involvement in her daughter’s death and burst into tears when confronted with the accusation in court.
Many of the facts of the case were not in dispute, including that Charlise died from gunshot wounds she suffered on or near a Mount Wilson property owned by Stein’s mother, the jury heard.
“The issue is not how Charlise died, but who pulled the trigger,” Judge Wilson said.
The judge told jurors that if they found there was a reasonable possibility that Mrs. Mutten shot her own daughter, they should find Stein not guilty.
Schoolgirl Charlise Mutten was excited to go on holiday with her mother, but the nine-year-old girl never returned home after being shot twice and her body dumped in a barrel.
“The Crown has no evidence that anyone saw the suspect shoot Charlise,” she said.
Stein appeared as the only defense witness in the trial and spent two days early in the week going over his version of events.
At the time of her death, Charlise was visiting her mother and Stein from Queensland, where she lived with her grandparents.
Charlise stayed at Stein’s mother’s house in Sydney, then with Mrs Mutten and Stein – who were engaged at the time, with the little girl calling the accused ‘daddy’.
They split their time between Wildenstein and a cabin at the Riviera Ski Gardens in Lower Portland, the trial was told.
Charlise spent the night of January 11 alone with Stein at Mount Wilson, while her mother remained in the cabin, and that’s when prosecutors alleged he killed her.
Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC said the jury could find that Stein drugged and shot Charlise dead.
The Stein family’s Mount Wilson property (above) where prosecutors allege Stein murdered Charlise and then disposed of the schoolgirl’s body in a barrel on a riverbank 60km away
Charlise Mutten (right) was shot dead and her body placed in the barrel, seen under a tarpaulin on the back of Stein’s ute (left) and dumped in the Colo River
An autopsy revealed that Charlise had traces of quetiapine, the ingredient in the antipsychotic Seroquel, which Stein used for his schizophrenia, in her body.
The jury heard that an adult dose would have a profound calming effect on a child, but it was difficult to tell how much Charlise had received.
Mr McKay said one possible motive was that Stein killed Charlise when she fell ill after he gave her the drug.
Stein denied giving Charlise the medication, instead claiming that she was shot by Ms Mutten on the evening of January 12.
He said he agreed to a plan to cover up the murder, including lying to police about leaving the girl in the care of an imaginary woman who was appraising items on the Mount Wilson estate.
Stein claimed that he was unaware that Charlise’s body was in a barrel on his back until the next day and that he panicked and eventually threw away her remains when he found out.