Justin Stein, the alleged murderer, retracted his story and blamed Charlise Mutten’s mother after authorities questioned his version of events.
The nine-year-old was murdered on or around January 12, 2022, near Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney, according to a plea deal entered by Justin Laurens Stein, 33.
His lawyer testified earlier this week in the NSW Supreme Court that he originally lied to police to cover for the nine-year-old girl because they were in a relationship. He alleges the youngster was shot by her mother, Kallista Mutten.
A second interview between Stein and police on January 14, four days before Charlise’s death was found, was played for the jury today.
The girl was shot twice in the head and lower back, and the gun was discarded in a barrel close to the Colo River.
Earlier that day, Mutten had told the police that her daughter was missing and that she hadn’t seen Charlise in the previous two nights.
At first, Stein informed the authorities that Mutten had spent the night of January 11 in a trailer at the Riviera Ski Park, about ninety minutes away, while Charlise had stayed with him at a house at Mount Wilson.
He said the next morning the daughter had woken up ill, and he had left her with a real estate agent who had come to assess the property while he went out.
Searching officers for Charlise put pressure on Stein to give an explanation for the choice, claiming to be “worried about”.
One of the cops remarked, “You told us that previous version wasn’t entirely the truth.”
Stein renounced his earlier account in the second interview and claimed Mutten had probably abducted her own daughter for custody. He informed cops, “For once, I haven’t done anything wrong here.”
Stein claimed that day, while travelling to Sydney, he learned of Charlise’s disappearance for the first time.
“I got a phone call … she basically dumped on me this far-fetched load of shit,” stated the man.
Charlise shared a full-time residence with her grandparents in Tweed Heads, close to the Queensland border, prior to tomorrow passing.
When Mutten was arrested for a driving incident that resulted in the death of her passenger, the court heard that they were granted legal custody.
“Kallista has been talking about literally doing a runner with Charlise for quite some time,” Stein told the authorities.
He informed the authorities It seemed probable that Charlise was still alive and maybe living with her biological father, with whom the court had previously heard she had no relationship.
“She isn’t aware, but I’ve overheard her talking on a few occasions and they’ve been talking about Charlise and her going up to Tweed and all of that and him coming down,” Stein stated.
In addition, he altered the date of their last encounter, claiming that Charlise spent the night of January 11 with her mother and that he went back to the Mount Wilson property by himself.
Contrary to what he first told the authorities, he was the last person to see Charlise that night when she stayed with him alone at the Mount Wilson residence.
