Haunting last photo of murdered schoolgirl
The last known pictures of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten can be revealed for the first time after her killer was found guilty and stares down the barrel of decades in prison.
Justin Stein, 33, was on Wednesday found guilty of murdering the daughter of his former fiancee Kallista Mutten.
After pleading not guilty and facing a lengthy Supreme Court trial, the jury took just shy of two weeks to return a guilty verdict.
The jury found he killed Charlise, nine, at a Mount Wilson property owned by his parents before he wrapped her body and dumped it in a barrel down near the Colo River.
Charlise travelled to Sydney days before Christmas 2021 and the Crown prosecution case was Stein killed her sometime between 7.16pm on January 11 and 10.06am on January 12.
In photos – which were released by the court following Stein’s verdict on Wednesday – Charlise can be seen on Christmas Day, 2021 holding a pair of dolls.
The photos were sent by Kallista to her mother, Deborah at 11.06am.
“Thanks for the present and Merry Christmas from us all,” Kallista said to Deborah via Facebook.
Deborah, along with her husband Clinton, was the girl’s guardian. Charlise had been living with them on the Gold Coast.
Charlise can also be seen in a picture on January 8 – just days before she was killed – swimming in a pool.
And on January 10, she was photographed by her mother poking a face next to a broken window.
The photo was sent to Stein by Kallista along with a message saying “I’m sorry I’m such a screw up can we still get married”.
Stein had claimed he saw Ms Mutten shoot her daughter at the Mount Wilson property on the night of January 12.
Ms Mutten, in her evidence, denied shooting her daughter and Stein’s claim was rejected by the jury.
On January 12, Stein picked up Ms Mutten and drove to Sydney, where they did drugs and had sex in Centennial Park before returning to Mount Wilson at 8.44pm to find it empty.
Charlise’s disappearance was reported to police on the morning of January 14 before her body was found dumped in a barrel near the Colo River on January 18.
Stein will face a sentence hearing in August.
THE GUNS
Charlise’s body was found with two gunshot wounds, one to the side of the face and one to the lower back.
Her body was discovered on January 18 and Stein was arrested later that day.
Stein told the court he was working on his car in the shed when he heard a gunshot.
He said, in his evidence, that when he arrived at the shed, he heard Charlise call out and a second gunshot.
Stein told the jury that he saw Ms Mutten with a .22 calibre rifle in her hands and asked her: “What the f**k have you done?”
However his story was rejected by the jury.
However his story was rejected by the jury.
Stein’s DNA was found on a rifle which police found stashed on a fire trail.
The court heard the guns had been found by a walker on a fire trail near the Mount Wilson property, buried under a pile of sticks and wrapped in a blue tarp.
During the trial, the court heard the rifle used in the murder was stolen by Stein and Ms Mutten when they broke into another Mount Wilson home in August 2021.
Video released by the court showed the pair covered head to toe in dark clothing breaking into the property via a window.
In the video Ms Mutten can be seen trying to break in before saying “I need your help” to Stein who is standing watch in the property’s front garden.
They dispose of a security screen before Ms Mutten climbs in through the window, boosted by Stein, who holds up her legs.
Stein stays outside, while Mutten goes through the house, and can be heard saying to his accomplice: “Have you been through each room?”
They can also be heard arguing about opening up a front door.
Kallista in 2022 appeared at Campbelltown Local Court where she was sentenced to a year-long intensive correction order after pleading guilty to break and enter a dwelling in company.
Stein has also pleaded guilty to the same offence.
