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 was arrested 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 said.
“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 Daily Telegraph 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.
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