Slain girl’s mum ‘distress’ over missing daughter

Charlise Mutten’s mother was admitted to hospital because she was “overwhelmed and distressed” just hours after she reported her daughter missing, and days after she had last seen the schoolgirl, a jury has been told.

Justin Stein, 33, is facing trial after pleading not guilty to murder, but has admitted to disposing of the schoolgirl’s body.

The 33-year-old is accused of murdering the daughter of his former fiancee, Kallista Mutten, at a property owned by his parents before dumping her body, which was concealed in a plastic barrel, near the Colo River.

Prosecutors allege Mr Stein was the “last person” to see Charlise and had the opportunity to kill her between 7.16pm on January 11 and 10.06am on January 12.

But he claims he saw Ms Mutten shoot her daughter at the family property on the night of January 12, after the couple spent the day together injecting ice and having sex at Sydney’s Centennial Park.

Ms Mutten reported her daughter missing on the morning of January 14, 2022, hours after prosecutors allege Mr Stein dumped the barrel containing Charlise’s body down an embankment near the Colo River.

The jury was told on Wednesday Ms Mutten was taken by ambulance to Blue Mountains Memorial Hospital at Katoomba later that day after complaining of pain to her lower stomach.

She was admitted to hospital as a mental health voluntary patient, the jury was told, before she was discharged on January 19.

Psychologist Dr Pauline Byrne gave evidence on Wednesday, telling the jury Ms Mutten was “overwhelmed and distressed” and had “suicidal ideation if something were to happen to her daughter”.

The jury was told Ms Mutten was “crying and expressing concerns”.

“Concerns for the welfare of her daughter,” Dr Byrne explained.

“When I first met her she was distressed, tearful at times, she seemed overwhelmed and confused about her situation, in terms of a number of factors.”

Dr Byrne told the jury Ms Mutten was “obviously” distressed as she had no further information about the welfare of Charlise.

Ms Mutten was informed by police on the evening of January 18 that Charlise’s body had been discovered in the barrel.

Dr Byrne said Ms Mutten was tearful and had trouble speaking because she was sobbing.

Ms Mutten herself faced tense cross-examination from Mr Stein’s barrister on Tuesday, asking “are you serious?” before breaking down and rushing out of the courtroom when he asked if it was in fact her who had shot and killed her daughter.

Three days after she was informed her daughter’s body had been found, Ms Mutten was interviewed by police.

She told officers there was “not a lot of drug use at Mount Wilson” and Mr Stein was “not fond” of meth.

Ms Mutten on Tuesday told the jury she had lied to police to protect her former partner.

“I was trying to protect him … he told me not to tell anyone we were taking drugs,” Ms Mutten said.

Carolyn Davenport SC, representing Mr Stein, said at that point, Ms Mutten had been informed that police had evidence to show he allegedly killed her daughter.

“I still in my heart believed what he told me was the truth,” Ms Mutten told the court.

The defence barrister continued, suggesting Ms Mutten had “no reason to say anything to police that might protect Justin”.

“I loved him,” Ms Mutten said.

“Even though you were told he had been arrested and charged with the murder of your child?” Ms Davenport asked.

Ms Mutten told the jury she “really did” believe Mr Stein had left to search for her daughter and believed his story.

During tense cross-examination earlier in the morning, Ms Mutten became emotional when she was accused of shooting her daughter.

“You waited until you arrived back at the house … you had in fact shot and killed your daughter,” Ms Davenport said.

Ms Mutten responded: “Are you serious?”

“I’m serious,” Ms Daveport said, to which Ms Mutten replied: “No.”

The barrister asked if Ms Mutten had shot her daughter “near the shed” on the property, to which Ms Mutten said: “No.”

“You shot her once in the back and once in the head,” Ms Davenport continued.

Ms Mutten grabbed a tissue and started to cry when she said she “didn’t even know” Charlise was shot with a gun.

“I don’t even know where she was shot, so now I know,” Ms Mutten said through tears.

Ms Davenport told the witness that Mr Stein claims he saw her “deliver the second shot” before Ms Mutten turned away and cried, asking to take “a moment”.

Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC alleges Mr Stein was the “last person” to see Charlise and had the opportunity to kill her between 7.16pm on January 11 and 10.06am on January 12.

Ms Mutten told the jury Mr Stein told her Charlise woke up vomiting in the early hours of January 12 and left her in the care of a female auctioneer before leaving to spend the day together.

The pair spent the day injecting ice and having sex, before the jury heard they arrived back at the Mount Wilson property about 8.44pm to find no-one home.

The jury heard Mr Stein claimed he left about 4pm on January 13 to search for Charlise but prosecutors allege he dumped the barrel with Charlise’s body.

The barrel with Charlise’s body was found on January 18, 2022, after police went to the location as a result of going through Mr Stein’s phone.

The trial continues.