Charlise Mutten murder: Mom Kallista Mutten breaks silence after fiancé is found guilty of ‘heinous’ murder

The nine-year-old was shot dead by her mother’s fiancé, Justin Stein, in January 2022 while on Christmas vacation in the Blue Mountains.

Charlise lived with her grandparents, but they allowed her mother, Kalista Mutten, to take her on vacation.

In August, Stein was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murdering Charlise, then stuffing her body into a barrel and dumping her near the Colo River.

During the trial, he claimed that Mrs. Mutten had killed her daughter and that he had helped cover it up – a version that was rejected by the jury.

Sentencing Stein, Judge Helen Wilson said his actions were “unspeakably cruel”, noting that a nine-year-old girl had called him “daddy”.

“It was a shockingly callous crime of very great horror; it was highly reprehensible and extremely vile,” she said.

“There are no facts that can mitigate the seriousness of this situation.”

Kallista met Stein in 2018 while they were both in prison, starting a relationship after their release and believing that they both wanted to work towards a better life.

“I am forced to live with the knowledge that I trusted someone with my daughter and that by trusting me, I put my daughter in danger,” she said on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

I hate myself for this. Really. It was enough for me to wake up and realize that I already had someone who loved me… He was a monster, pure evil.

The couple moved to Stein’s home in Mount Wilson, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

At the end of 2021, Charlise’s grandparents agreed to let her spend the holidays with Kallista and Stein.

Ms Mutten said Stein asked Charlise to call him Daddy, saying he would “always be a father figure”.

“It was a very touching moment for both of us because she always missed her dad,” she said.

A few days before her death, the three were staying in a caravan on the Hawkesbury River when Stein said he intended to return to Mount Wilson and Charlise asked to go with him on January 11.

Three days later, Mrs. Mutten reported her missing.

She told 60 Minutes that her relationship with Stein was irregular, largely due to their drug use, but she never believed he was capable of what happened.

“The thought of what she went through, what she had to go through, it… it breaks me,” Ms. Mutten said.

“There is simply not enough justice to make things better for me and my family.”

The court found that Stein killed Charlise in the 15 hours between the evening of January 11 and the morning of January 12.

He returned on January 12, lied and claimed that Charlise was sick and needed care.

They returned to the empty house in Mount Wilson 11 hours later after taking drugs and having sex in Centennial Park, and Stein now claimed that Charlise had been kidnapped and had convinced her not to contact the police.

Lead investigator Detective Sergeant Brad Gardiner told 60 Minutes Ms Mutten was an easy scapegoat and received a lot of hate, but is now forced to live with her decisions.

Ms Mutten said she understood why she was judged and now knows “Charlise deserved better”.

“I take responsibility for the things I did,” she said.

“I wish I had been there for her longer and now I see it and have to live with it.”

She told the program that she hopes Charlise will be remembered as a bundle of joy and a kind soul.

“We just had an amazing bond and she was just my number one fan,” she said.

“She was just the most amazing, amazing little girl.”

Originally published as Charlise Mutten Murder: Mom Kallista Mutten breaks silence after fiancé is found guilty of ‘heinous’ murder