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Charlise Mutten's alleged killer facing fresh charges

The man accused of murdering nine-year-old schoolgirl Charlise Mutten earlier this year has been hit with new charges. Jason Stein was <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/man-charged-with-murder-of-missing-9-year-old" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged with the murder of his fiancé’s daughter</a> in January, after the little girl’s body was discovered in a barrel near the Colo River, about an hour from the Blue Mountains where she had disappeared from. After his arrest, police conducted a search in the bushland near Mt Wilson - the area where Charlise was last seen - and found two firearms and ammunition, which was seized and forensically examined. Police then visited Silverwater prison and arrested the 31-year-old, charging him with two counts of possessing an unregistered firearm, two for possessing an unauthorised firearm, possessing ammunition without a licence or permit, and aggravated break and enter in company. Mr Stein has also been charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material for unrelated matters. Meanwhile, investigations continue under Strike Force Buena, which was established to investigate Charlise’s disappearance. Images: 9News / Twitter

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The touching way Charlise Mutten's memory will live on

Image: Facebook Charlise Mutten's former primary school has vowed to keep her memory alive by creating a permanent memorial area in her memory. Tweed Heads Public School, in northern NSW is mourning the loss of the nine-year-old after her body was discovered last week in a barrel dumped near the Colo River, North-west of Sydney. The schoolgirl lived fulltime with her grandparents on the Gold Coast was reported missing days earlier on January 14th from Wildenstein Private Gardens at Mount Wilson, where she was spending the holidays with her mother Kallista Mutten. Principal Peter Nichols has announced the school will create a memorial site for the allegedly murdered child, using flowers, cards, and other gifts laid at the school's front gates. A makeshift shrine featuring photos, bouquets, cards, and stuffed toys has amassed at the entrance since hundreds of mourners gathered at the campus for a candlelit vigil last Wednesday. 'On behalf of the school, I sincerely thank you for all the cards, flowers and other items placed at our fence,' Mr Nichols said in a statement on Tuesday. 'Every one of them acknowledges how much we all loved Charlise and how much we will all miss her.' Mr Nichols said the Red Cross offered to collect and collate the mementos into a book for Charlise's family to create a lasting token of the 'spontaneous and thoughtful memorial' that developed outside the school. 'To allow this to happen, all the mementos left at the school fence will be collected soon,' he said. 'This includes the flowers and plant material which will be mulched and used in the creation of a memorial area for Charlise.' Mr Nichols stated the charity organisation would be offering members of the school community further opportunities to contribute to the memorial book later on. Charlise's mother's fiancé, Justin Stein, 31, has been charged with murder and remains in custody.

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Charlise Mutten’s mother speaks to police

Charlise’s Mutten’s mother Kallista has spoken to the police, according to The Daily Telegraph. According to their report, she gave a statement to police on Friday last week, in which she revealed that she initially believed her fiance Justin Laurens Stein’s explanation for why Charlise was not with him on January 13. A police source told the Telegraph, “He gave a story about where the kid was and she believed him, then later on she got concerned and reports her missing.” Ms Mutten called police at 8.20 am on January 14, sparking a search for Charlise before her body was found in a barrel on the banks of the Colo River five days later, 65km from where she was first reported missing. According to Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson, police will allege in court that Mr Stein held phone conversations with Ms Mutten in the lead-up to Charlise’s body being discovered. He said, “[There were] a number of telephone conversations with the girl’s mother, to purchase a number of sandbags, 20kg sandbags from a hardware store, to fuel a boat and then try and float that boat on the water at one of the docks in inner Sydney.” Police will also allege Mr Stein drove to Sydney with Charlise’s body in the back of his boat, believing he had tried to launch it from an inner-Sydney dock. Police allege Charlise was killed by a bullet wound. Detectives say there is “no evidence” Ms Mutten was involved in her daughter’s disappearance. Charlise had been in her grandmother’s custody in Queensland, but was visiting her mother and soon-to-be-stepfather in NSW during the school holidays. Mr Stein is next due to appear in court on March 18.

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Charlise Mutten's cause of death revealed

Image: 9News Detectives have revealed nine-year-old Charlise Mutten died from a gunshot wound. The Homicide Squad boss has called this and "unimaginable and egregious murder". The young girl was found dead in a plastic barrel on the banks of the Colo River in NSW last week. She was found an hour from where she was last seen in the Blue Mountains. Her mother's partner Justin Stein, 31, has been charged with her murder. "The cause of death of Charlise was that she suffered a fatal gunshot wound, and that's how she died," Homicide Squad Commander Danny Doherty said today. "We're disclosing this for investigative reasons but also just to clear up any ambiguity… this is the (alleged) murder of a nine-year-old girl." The family of the girl has only recently been told how she died. "It's important that they know, and it's important that the public know that this is an unimaginable and egregious (alleged) murder of a child," he said. Police are still searching the Mount Wilson property where Charlise was last seen and the surrounding areas for a gun. Detective Superintendent Doherty said the barrel Charlise was found in is believed to be from the property and police believe there is a "high probability" she died there. Charlise's mother Kallista Mutten has been reinterviewed and is being treated as a witness. Detective Superintendent Doherty said Ms Mutten was not believed to have been at the property at the time police allege Charlise was murdered. It comes as new CCTV was released, showing a ute towing a boat at multiple locations across Sydney. The CCTV footage shows the maroon coloured ute towing a covered boat at three locations on the evening of January 13. Just before 6pm, the ute pulls into a BP gas station at Marsden Park, in Sydney's north-west. At 7:17 pm the ute and boat are spotted in traffic in Drummoyne, in Sydney's inner west. Minutes later, close to the Five Dock Bay Boat Ramp near Drummoyne, the ute is captured on a home's private security system. Police believe the little girl was killed on January 11th or 12th. Charlise was visiting her mother for the school holidays from Queensland, where she lives, at the time of her death.

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New messages between Charlise Mutten’s mum and Justin Stein emerge

Messages sent by the mother of Charlise Mutten about her fiancé have emerged as investigations continue into the young girl’s death. Kallista Mutten messaged a friend through Facebook, telling them how she had fallen in love with Justin Stein and that he treated her “so good”. “He’s amazing and treats me so good,” she told her friend, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/before-her-daughter-was-allegedly-murdered-kallista-mutten-was-getting-life-on-track-20220121-p59q85.html" target="_blank">The Sydney Morning Herald</a>. “He’s completely loyal and I have no worries, I know his heart is with me.” The couple met while Ms Mutten was serving a three-year sentence in prison for causing a car crash that killed her passenger in 2017. She was high on ice at the time of the crash. After exchanging letters for the final two years of her sentence, the pair were engaged shortly after her release. They had plans to move to North Queensland and start their lives together, with Ms Mutten recently getting her driver’s licence after a long suspension. Ms Mutten also shared her excitement over her daughter coming to visit her at her fiancé’s family property in the NSW Blue Mountains for Christmas. “My daughter comes on the 21st, so I’m looking forward to that,” she wrote on December 5, as reported by the Herald. One month later, Charlise’s remains were found inside a barrel in bushland by the Colo River, with police alleging that Mr Stein has murdered her at his family’s property. Mr Stein has been remanded in Silverwater Prison, while Ms Mutten remains in hospital. Police are yet to have a chance to speak to her but are keen to do so to aid their investigation. The <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10433165/Charlise-Muttens-mother-sent-friends-Facebook-messages-doting-fiance-alleged-murder.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a> reported that Ms Mutten stayed at Sydney Clinic last November - which has treated Andrew O’Keefe, AFL player Ben Cousins, and reality TV star Suzi Taylor - and was housed in the clinic’s substance abuse unit. A fellow patient told the publication that Ms Mutten was visited by Mr Stein during her stay at the clinic, describing her as “over the top” and “very attention seeking”. The patient said Ms Mutten spoke about her upcoming wedding to Mr Stein in 2022 and claimed that she and Mr Stein “had sex in the back of the ute” after one of his visits. Though Sydney Clinic holds three-step group therapy sessions for patients, Ms Mutten’s fellow patients said she seemed uninterested in participating, according to the Daily Mail. Ms Mutten was convicted in November 2017 of dangerous driving occasioning death and driving with an illicit substance in her system, serving over two years in prison for the incident that killed her 53-year-old friend and passenger Karen ‘Kaz’ Bunch. Images: The Daily Mail

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Hundreds gather to mourn Charlise Mutten

A sombre, candlelight vigil <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/tears-flow-at-vigil-for-murdered-schoolgirl-charlise-mutten-211910839.html" target="_blank">has been held</a> for nine-year-old Charlise Mutten, who was allegedly murdered while holidaying with family in the NSW Blue Mountains. The vigil, held at Tweed Heads near the Queensland-NSW border, saw locals gather from 7.15 pm on Wednesday night. Mourners held candles and left bouquets and messages outside the gates of Tweed Heads Public School, the school Charlise had been attending. <img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846947/vigil1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/70b616652e7e46529b4b3413b3ad7893" /> More than 100 people gathered for the candlelight vigil held for Charlise Mutten outside Tweed Heads Public School, which she attended. Images: 9News Despite the light rain, about 150 people gathered outside the school for the vigil, where several speakers shared emotional tributes to the young girl. “Charlise loved coming to our little lunchtime drama club,” <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/vigil-for-nine-year-old-girl-found-in-barrel-held-tweed-heads-man-charged-murder/3644467d-5827-412f-bde6-6ac33c28b31d?ocid=Social-9NewsGC" target="_blank">said</a> Emily Carey, a teacher at Tweed Heads Public School. “She was always funny, very entertaining, and full of wit.” Another message, written by a classmate, read: “Dear Charlise, I was in your class in year two, it makes me really sad what happened to you. “You were a really nice person and I wish you were coming back to school with me. “Rest in Peace.” A message on the school’s notice board read: “don’t count the days, make the days count”. In a statement on Wednesday morning, the school said it was “absolutely devastated” by the young girl’s death. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftweedheadspublicschool%2Fposts%2F339127968218848&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="770" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> “Charlise was a much loved member of our school who brightened all our days, every day,” the statement read. The school <a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/devastated-more-details-released-on-charlise-mutten-as-community-mourns" target="_blank">shared</a> a recent photo of Charlise holding a literacy award she received at their end-of-year presentation day. Prime Minister Scott Morrison also shared his condolences for the family after the five-day search for the missing girl tragically ended. “You hope for the best, you pray for it, but it doesn’t always occur,” Mr Morrison said. <img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846946/vigil2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6cb3d994e5344e3fa6a866a6f5ecb986" /> Students who knew and attended school with Charlise were among those who left messages for her at Wednesday night’s vigil. Images: 9News Charlise’s body was discovered near the Colo River after police and volunteers from the Rural Fire Service and SES searched bushland around the Wildenstein Private Gardens at Mount Wilson, about 120 kilometres northwest of Sydney. Detectives searched the property - where Charlise was last seen alive - for several hours on Tuesday before her body was found. Her stepfather, Justin Stein, has been <a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/charlise-mutten-s-accused-killer-fronts-court-with-two-requests" target="_blank">arrested and charged</a> with her murder, with police alleging he attempted to dispose of her body in inner Sydney before travelling back to the Colo River. Mr Stein appeared before a magistrate’s court on Wednesday, where he was refused bail. The case is due back in court on March 18. Investigations into Charlise’s death are ongoing, with police yet to determine how she died or whether there was a motive behind her murder. Image: 9News

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"Rot in hell": Charlise Mutten's alleged killer attacked online

A Facebook post from 2020 announcing the engagement of Charlise Mutten's alleged killer, Justin Stein, and her mother, Kallista Mutten, has been inundated with death threats and violent messages. After a five-day search for nine-year-old Charlise, NSW Police confirmed the worst when her body was found in a barrel in bushland near the Blue Mountains where she went missing. Shortly after her body was found, Justin Stein was arrested for murder, but major questions still linger about the case. Police have been unable to interview Charlise's mother Kallista, who remains under medical supervision and remains "difficult to approach", according to police. As news of Justin Stein's arrest broke, a Facebook post from December 2020 sharing news of Justin and Kallista's engagement has been flooded with hateful messages, with many telling the 31-year-old man to "rot in hell". The post has attracted over 2,000 comments with people sending death threats and photos of nooses, all while seeking vengeance for the slain nine-year-old girl. One person wrote, “I hope you only know pure hell for the rest of your days!”, while another said, “Monster! Hope you rot in jail.” Others shared their sadness and disbelief over Charlise's death, with one person saying, “What a broken world! That poor precious girl deserved so much better in this world! Rest easy little one, no one will ever hurt you again.” A milestone post announcing the couple's new relationship, which began just one month before their engagement, has attracted a slew of similar comments. Charlise usually lives with her grandmother in the Queensland town of Coolangatta, but was spending time with her mother and step-father over the school holidays. Image credits: Facebook

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Parents of accused killer break their silence

Image: 9News Justin Stein, who grew up among Sydney’s affluent elite, had a “tortured” life, his mum says, as her son remains behind bars, charged with murdering his stepdaughter. Annemie Stein said she had not approved of her son’s turbulent relationship with Charlise’s mother, ex-ice addict Kallista Mutten. They had been together for just over a year. “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, 56, said from her home in Sydney’s inner-west. “Justin’s had a pretty tortured life.” “It would hurt anyone (to have a child go through this), it doesn’t matter who you are it would hurt you because parents know their children and, you know, as I said, the mother is the one they need to talk to.” Kallista Mutten remains under medical supervision in hospital. Kallista's mother said that Charlise was soon to be her step-granddaughter before she was allegedly murdered and her body stuffed in a barrel. She says was: “A lovely little girl and beautiful little girl and definitely didn’t deserve this.” Meanwhile, in rural NSW, Justin Stein’s father James Stein revealed he had not seen his son for some time. James Stein Snr, who split with Annemie Stein more than a decade ago, now runs an antique shop at Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains with his partner. It appears the family has been torn in two for a number of years. His oldest son, James Jnr, and his partner Keegan Buzza, are also understood not to have seen Justin since about 2016. Together the Steins still own the luxurious Wildenstein wedding venue where Charlise was staying for a holiday when she went missing. Having had little to do with his son in recent times, James Stein Snr said he had never met young Charlise, but was left “heartbroken” by her death: “Absolutely heartbroken. It‘s a tragedy. I’d never met her, so there you go. "I‘m a father... I hope you never have to go through circumstances like these.” Ms Mutten lost custody of Charlise in 2018 while she was serving a minimum of two years two months for dangerous driving causing death while high on ice.

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Charlise Mutten's accused killer fronts court with two requests

The man accused of murdering his stepdaughter Charlise Mutten has made two requests via his lawyers, including that he be kept separate from other prisoners while in custody. Nine-year-old Charlise’s body was found on Tuesday night in a barrel near the Colo River - about an hour from where she disappeared on a private property in Mount Wilson, in NSW's Blue Mountains, last week. Justin Stein <a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.co.nz/news/news/man-charged-with-murder-of-missing-9-year-old" target="_blank">was arrested</a> by police that night, before appearing in Central Local Court on Wednesday morning. Mr Stein did not apply for bail, and it was formally refused. His barrister told Magistrate Robert Williams that the 31-year-old needed his medication for mental health issues while in custody, and that Stein was concerned for his own safety. “The other matter I’m instructed to raise relates to his concerns for personal safety in custody,” the barrister <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10419847/Charlise-Mutten-Stepdad-Justin-Stein-fears-safety-prison-charged-murder.html" target="_blank">said</a>. “He has asked the court to recommend a no association classification.” However, Magistrate Williams said Corrective Services could only separate the accused from other prisoners. The barrister also requested a 12-week adjournment from the court to seek a mental health assessment for Mr Stein, noting his “long-term medication”. The hearing comes after police alleged Mr Stein drove around Sydney with Charlise’s body in the back of a boat for hours while he tried to find a place to dump her, the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nsw/charlise-muttens-accused-killer-justin-stein-drove-around-sydney-with-her-body/news-story/79a4494a4ac0a842b010f7df7c3716a4" target="_blank">Daily Telegraph</a> reports. It is understood that detectives believe her mother Kallista Mutten had left Charlise in her fiance Mr Stein’s care on Tuesday night - the last time she was confirmed to be alive. Police will allege that Charlise was killed within 15 hours, sometime between 7 pm on Tuesday, January 11 and 10 am Wednesday, January 12. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846933/charlise1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/fc6373651a4841a2b9c62fa63db7d754" /> Dozens of volunteers from the NSW Rural Fire Service and SES joined police to search for Charlise Mutten before her body was found on Tuesday. Image: NSW Rural Fire Service (Facebook) The young girl was then reported missing from the Blue Mountains property where she was holidaying with her mother and stepfather on Friday morning. Her grandparents, who live in Coolangatta on Queensland’s Gold Coast, had full time custody of Charlise and have been notified. Detectives have said they are still waiting to speak to Ms Mutten because she is under “medical supervision” in hospital and is “difficult to approach”. “The mother is currently under healthcare and is difficult to approach,” Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson said. “She’s under medical supervision, but when doctors allow, we will be talking to her.” Mr Hudson also said it was too early to determine whether Mr Stein had an accomplice or acted alone, though police were able to trace Mr Stein’s movements using CCTV. The deputy commissioner said police were able to establish certain facts about Mr Stein’s movements after tracking a car they seized via CCTV. He allegedly bought five 20kg sandbags from Bunnings, fuelled up a boat, and attempted to launch it from a dock in inner Sydney. Police then allege that Mr Stein attempted to dump the barrel containing Charlise’s body in the Colo River after finding the boat was inoperable. However, they allege he was unable to roll it in due to the heavy sandbags, instead dumping Charlise in the scrub where she was later found. At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Mr Hudson said authorities will allege that Mr Stein discussed buying sandbags and boat fuel in “a number of telephone conversations” before he travelled to the riverbed where his stepdaughter was found. “(There were) a number of telephone conversations, to purchase a number of sandbags,” Mr Hudson said. Police were initially investigating a number of “anomalies” they claimed to find in Mr Stein’s initial testimony, including allegedly giving two separate versions of events leading up to Charlise’s disappearance. More details about the young girl’s death and final moments are expected to emerge in the coming days, after her post-mortem results are shared with detectives. Image: NSW Police / Facebook

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Father’s fury over Charlise Mutten’s fate

Image: Facebook The biological father of missing girl, Charlise Mutten, whose body was found inside a barrel in NSW’s Blue Mountains overnight has paid tribute to his “beautiful” daughter. The 9-year-old was holidaying with her mother Kallista Mutten and stepfather Justin Laurens Stein at a wedding estate in Mt Wilson when she was reported missing at 8:20 am on Friday. Stein, the fiance of Ms Mutten, has since been charged with her murder. Her biological father spoke out about the situation in a Facebook post earlier on Wednesday. “Goodbye you beautiful little girl. I love you so much. I miss you every day! You have captured the hearts of the nation and the world, and now those hearts are breaking, with mine,” he wrote. “This doesn’t happen! Kids need to be safe. What is wrong with you people???? “We will get the answers for you baby, and we will honour you properly. This is not the end of you or your story.” Police, SES and RFS crews spent the past five days searching bushland around the multimillion-dollar Wildenstein wedding venue, where the girl was staying with her mum and her mum’s fiance. Charlise usually lives with her grandmother in Coolangatta, Queensland, but was spending two weeks with her mother during the school holidays. According to acting Commissioner Webb said the cause of the child’s death is yet to be determined and the investigation remains ongoing. “The search will remain ongoing to look for any clues to help us identify the cause of the death,” she said. “I encourage people to come forward with information. There are still many elements of this investigation that we have to work through to determine exactly what happened from the time the young girl was reported missing up until last night when those remains were found.” Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said while investigators are still uncertain of exactly what happened, they were “certain” about a number of facts, sharing that police have alleged the accused placed her body in the barrel. "Things will unravel over the next week or so to find a cause of death, the purpose for a death, and try and identify exactly what happened so that the remaining family have some comfort in that,” he told reporters. He said the investigation is ongoing and that there is no evidence to support anything other than that the accused acted alone.

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“Devastated”: More details released on Charlise Mutten as community mourns

The Gold Coast community is in mourning following the death of nine-year-old Charlise Mutten, who was allegedly murdered while staying in NSW's Blue Mountains on a family holiday. Charlise lived with her grandmother in the border town of Coolangatta, and attended the nearby Tweed Heads Public School. The school's Facebook page posted a tribute to Charlise, saying the school community is "absolutely devastated" to hear of her passing. The statement said, "Charlise was a much loved member of our school who brightened all our days, every day." <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftweedheadspublicschool%2Fposts%2F339127968218848&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="767" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> Floral tributes have begun to appear near the school, where Charlise was due to return next week after the holidays. The school has also organised a candlelight vigil on the school grounds to honour the nine-year-old, as police continue their investigation into her death. A man was arrested in relation to Charlise's disappearance on Tuesday night, and is due to appear in court late on Wednesday afternoon. The partner of Charlise's mother Kallista Mutten <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/man-charged-with-murder-over-missing-9yo-girl-in-blue-mountains/100765502">was arrested</a> in Sydney's Surry Hills, after police found the body of a child was found in a barrel near the Colo River, about an hour from the Blue Mountains. The child's body has yet to be formally identified, but NSW Police say the remains are consistent with Charlise Mutten. Image credits: Facebook / NSW Police

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Charlise Mutten's alleged killer facing fresh charges

The touching way Charlise Mutten's memory will live on

Charlise Mutten’s mother speaks to police

Charlise Mutten's cause of death revealed

New messages between Charlise Mutten’s mum and Justin Stein emerge

Hundreds gather to mourn Charlise Mutten

"Rot in hell": Charlise Mutten's alleged killer attacked online

Parents of accused killer break their silence

Charlise Mutten's accused killer fronts court with two requests

Father’s fury over Charlise Mutten’s fate

“Devastated”: More details released on Charlise Mutten as community mourns