Charlise Mutten: Mum of accused murderer Justin Stein speaks out
The mum of a man accused of murdering nine-year-old Charlise Mutten who went missing in the Blue Mountains said her son had a “tortured” life.
Justin Stein, 31, was charged with the murder of the girl from the Gold Coast on Tuesday night.
Stein was engaged to Charlise’s mum Kallista. He would have been Charlise’s stepdad but for now remains behind bars until he returns to court.
Stein’s mum Annemie told The Daily Telegraph her son “had a pretty tortured life”.
“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink, or choose their partners, and sometimes it ends up in a headache like this one,” Ms Stein told the paper.
Ms Stein called Charlise, who would have been her step-granddaughter before she died, “a lovely little girl” who did not deserve what happened to her.
Stein’s parents have been separated for about a decade. The family owns the Wildenstein Private Gardens at Mount Wilson where Charlise had been staying with Stein and her mum before she died.
James Stein, Stein’s dad, told the paper he never met Charlise but nonetheless was saddened by her death.
Justin Stein to front court again in March
Stein was arrested in Surry Hills on Wednesday after police discovered Charlise’s body stuffed in a barrel dumped near the Colo River.
His arrest came after police analysed CCTV and GPS data to narrow down their search to an area near the Colo River. Police alleged Stein had tried to float a boat at an inner-Sydney dock after purchasing sandbags from a hardware store, before travelling back to the Colo River.
Investigations are ongoing, with police yet to determine how she died or any motive for her murder.
Stein will remain behind bars until the case is due back in court on March 18 in Penrith.
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