Charlise Mutten murder trial told of schoolgirl’s heartbreaking nine words she told her grandfather about her alleged killer

The grandfather of Charlise Mutten, who was allegedly shot and killed by her mother’s partner, has told a court the schoolgirl hoped her alleged killer would ‘be a good dad’.

Justin Laurens Stein, 33, is facing a trial in the NSW Supreme Court at Parramatta after pleading not guilty to murder.

He is accused of murdering the nine-year-old, who was the daughter of his former partner Kallista Mutten, at a property owned by his parents, before dumping her body in a plastic barrel in the Colo River area.

Charlise’s grandfather Clinton Mutten Snr, who she was living with at the time, was the first witness to give evidence in the trial, telling the court his granddaughter showed potential in school.

Mr Mutten told the court Charlise had lived with her mother for the first four years of her life, before her grandparents informally took custody of her.

‘Kallista realised that she wasn’t providing adequate care and she was quite happy for Charlise to come and live with us,’ he told the court.

The jury was told Ms Mutten had used the drug ice, or methylamphetamine, since at least her early 20s.

She later went to prison for dangerous driving occasioning the death of a passenger, where she met Mr Stein who was serving a sentence for drug supply, the jury was told.

Mr Mutten told the jury Charlise had excelled in school, loved reading, and was ‘self-motivated’ when it came to extracurricular activities.

He said Charlise loved animals and spent the two years speaking about her dreams to become a vet.

During this time Charlise would have video calls with her mother, with Mr Mutton describing their relationship as ‘unconditional and very loving’.

Mr Mutten told the court Charlise would sometimes cry, saying she missed her mother.

‘She said she really liked Justin and she asked me if I thought he would be a good dad,’ Mr Mutten told the court.

He said Charlise was ‘excited’ to travel to NSW to spend the Christmas and school holiday period with her mother, and assumed both his daughter and Mr Stein were not using drugs at the time.

Mr Mutten spoke of the last time he spoke to Charlise, a week before her death.

‘She insisted on speaking with me, at the time I was cooking and I had my hands full and she showed me her new haircut,’ he told the court.

‘Via FaceTime on the phone, she was playing with a little white dog and she was at the Mount Wilson property.

‘She was in very good spirits and happy…she told me she loved me.’

Mr Stein is accused of shooting the nine-year-old twice, in the head and lower back, and dumping her body in a plastic barrel.

During opening arguments, the jury of five women and 10 men were told Mr Stein had pretended he was out searching for Charlise, while he was actually trying to dispose of the girl’s body in January 2022.

The schoolgirl had flown to Sydney on December 21, 2021 to spend the Christmas and New Year period with her mother and Mr Stein.

Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC alleges Mr Stein was the ‘last person’ to see Charlise, who was being treated for schizophrenia and heroin addiction at the time.

He said Mr Stein had told Ms Mutten and his mother he was out looking for Charlise on January 13, but allegedly left Mount Wilson with a barrel under a tarp in the back of the ute, as well as towing his boat.

He went to Bunnings and allegedly bought five 20kg bags of sand, most of which was later found in the barrel with the girl’s body, the jury was told.

With the girl’s body allegedly stuffed in a barrel at the back of the ute and hidden under a tarp, Mr McKay told the jury Mr Stein stopped in at a 7/11 where he bought a can of coke, snickers and a slushie before putting more than $120 of petrol in a boat he was towing.

The jury was told Mr Stein later Google searched ‘Colo River’ and allegedly dumped the barrel down an embankment before returning to Mount Wilson at 4.22am on January 15.

The barrel was found on January 18 buried within some foliage partway down the embankment, with a toxicology report showing Charlise tested positive for Mr Stein’s schizophrenia medication.

Defence barrister Carolyn Davenport SC told the jury her client told ‘various versions’ of what happened to the child to protect his former partner.

‘Charlise was killed … by her mother … near a chicken shed on the property,’ Ms Davenport told the jury.

‘He didn’t know what happened to the child, he disposed of the body … he didn’t put the body in the barrel but he did dispose of it.’

The jury was told Ms Mutten will be a witness in the trial.

The trial before Justice Helen Wilson continues.