prosecutor rejects alleged killer's story

Prosecutors have asked the jury to conclude that Charlise Mutten was drugged and fatally shot by Justin Stein, calling her version of what happened to the schoolgirl “nonsense.”

Stein, 33, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the nine-year-old girl in January 2022, saying it was the girl's mother, Kallista Mutten, who shot him.

Charlise's body was found dumped on the banks of the Colo River, northwest of Sydney, four days after she went missing, with gunshot wounds to her head and lower back.

Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC told the jury in his closing address on Wednesday that prosecutors did not have to prove motive.

He did, however, invite them to find Stein shot Charlise because he feared being discovered for giving her antipsychotic medication.

Toxicology results revealed that Charlise had traces of the drug Seroquel, for which Stein had a prescription to treat schizophrenia, in her system.

An adult dose of the drug would have a profound sedative effect on a child, the court was previously told.

Charlise was visiting her mother and Stein, who were then a couple, at Christmas.

The group spent their time between a Mount Wilson property owned by Stein's mother and a trailer at Riviera Ski Park, about a 90-minute drive away.

Prosecutors allege that Charlise spent the night alone with Stein at the Mount Wilson property on Jan. 11 and that he killed her that evening or the next day.

To convict Stein, the jury must be satisfied that there was no reasonable possibility that Ms. Mutten shot her own daughter, Mr. McKay said.

Testifying Monday, Stein admitted he spent the night of Jan. 11 at the property with Charlise, but said the girl was alive the next day.

According to Stein, Charlise traveled with him to collect Ms Mutten from the caravan before all three traveled to Sydney.

He said they returned to Mount Wilson together in the evening.

Phone records show Stein called her mother at 8:59 p.m. on Jan. 12 and spoke to her for several minutes, which Stein and her mother believe happened.

It is also not disputed that Ms Mutten searched for hospitals in the area on her phone at around 9.21pm and subsequently made calls to Lithgow Hospital and Blue Mountains Hospital.

In the short period between these two events, Stein said Ms. Mutten shot her daughter and moved the body.

He said after speaking to his mother, he checked on Charlise before working on a car in a shed on the property.

According to Stein's account, he then heard a gunshot and left the shed to see Ms. Mutten shoot her daughter a second time.

Stein said Ms Mutten asked him to fetch a tarpaulin from the shed, which he said took him up to 10 minutes.

When he returned, Ms Mutten and Charlise were gone, he said.

“This version is simply absurd,” Mr McKay told the jury.

“It’s important to you, but it didn’t happen like that.”

Mr. McKay said Ms. Mutten calling local hospitals was consistent with the belief that her daughter was missing and not with the woman who had just shot her.

“If you thought 'oh, better get him medical help,' you'd ring triple zero,” he said.

“But calling a hospital, a children’s hospital, you’re looking to see if there’s anyone there.”

During cross-examination on Tuesday, Mr. McKay told Stein that he murdered Charlise after giving her Seroquel.

Stein denied the claim, saying, “I never touched her. »

The trial continues.