Charlise Mutten’s mother faced the man accused of her daughter’s murder.
Although he has pleaded not guilty to murder, Justin Stein has acknowledged disposing of the corpse of the schoolgirl. He is now facing trial for the crime.
At a farm owned by his parents, the 33-year-old allegedly killed the daughter of his ex-fiance and dumped her corpse along the Colo River, with her body concealed in a plastic bucket.
Charlise Mutten’s mother testified against the man accused of her daughter’s murder, stating that she intended to contact the authorities but that he threatened to “kill her” if she did so.
While in New South Wales on a school vacation visit with her mother, the child spent time on both Mr. Stein’s property on Mount Wilson—the site of the alleged shooting—and a caravan park in Lower Portland, approximately 1.5 hours apart.
According to the Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Stein had the chance to murder Charlise between 7.16 pm on January 11 and 10.06 am on January 12, and he was the last to see her alive.
Mr. Stein warned Ms. Mutten that she would be killed if she reported “things weren’t adding up” to the authorities, as Ms. Mutten revealed to the jury on Monday.
Prior to this, Mr. Stein said that an “auctioneer lady” had visited the residence on January 12 and volunteered to care for the ill daughter, leaving Charlise alone.
Around 9 o’clock on January 12, the couple reached the Mount Wilson property and discovered that nobody was there and that the lights were turned off.
According to what the jury heard, Ms. Mutten had attempted to contact other hospitals that evening to inquire about Charlise’s admission status but had been unable to locate her.
Ms. Mutten claimed to be trying to stay calm and think when asked about Charlise’s whereabouts, leading her to believe that the auction lady had taken her daughter home to take care of her.
The jury was told that Ms. Mutten searched her partner’s phone overnight and discovered communications that she thought proved he was unfaithful.
Afraid her kid was “gone,” Ms. Mutten drove her partner’s car to a campground early on January 13 and sent several texts informing her friends of her whereabouts.
After Ms. Mutten informed the jury that something “wasn’t adding up,” Mr. Stein allegedly “grabbed,” pulled her to the ground, and began “kicking” her upon her return to the premises.
According to what Ms. Mutten told the court, Mr. Stein received a call from his mother, who informed him that “the auctioneer lady is not the auctioneer lady” and that he believed his “ex-affiliations had… kidnapped her.”
According to her, Mr. Stein had declined her request to contact the authorities.
Ms. Mutten will face further questioning from Mr. Stein’s legal team when she takes the witness stand again on Tuesday.
The case is still ongoing.
