The family of murdered schoolgirl Charlise Mutten have spoken of their mental torment over the brutal death of the nine-year-old and the abuse they receive from strangers
Grandfather Clinton Mutten read a victim impact statement on behalf of himself and his wife Deborah through tears on Friday before the sentencing of Justin Stein, Charlise’s murderous stepfather.
Mr Mutten’s emotional submission to the court revealed how their lives have been torn apart since their beloved granddaughter was murdered in January 2022 when Stein shot her in the face at close range.
Stein, 33, was the fiancé of their drug-addicted daughter Kallista Mutten at the time of the heartbreaking tragedy, which took place at Stein’s family home at Mount Wilson in Sydney’s Blue Mountains.
Stein was convicted of the murder in June and appeared before a New South Wales Supreme Court hearing on Friday, where Mr Mutten told Justice Helen Wilson about the hell the family has endured in the wake of the killing.
Charlise’s grandmother is suffering “a lot of mental anguish and grief,” he said. “It’s affecting her mental and physical health and causing her depression and anxiety.”
‘The failure to protect Charlise will haunt our consciences for the rest of our lives, leading to depression and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
‘We trusted our daughter and her partner to care for Charlise, but in retrospect that trust was misplaced… family members are estranged from each other.
Charlise’s murder had caused her grandmother and legal guardian Deborah Mutten (pictured above) “great mental anguish and grief, depression and anxiety”
Since Charlise (above during her last Christmas, in 2021) was murdered, people have blamed her grandparents, Clinton Mutten said, for not protecting her
‘Since Charlise was murdered, we’ve been accused of failing as grandparents. [her].
“As her legal guardians, we have not provided her with adequate protection.”
In a trembling voice, Mr Mutten told a packed courtroom of the last moment he saw his “caring, respectful, smart, attentive” granddaughter.
Mr Mutten’s last conversation with Charlise took place at Coolangatta Airport on the Gold Coast in December 2021, just days before her murder.
She left her grandparents and flew to Sydney to spend Christmas with her mother and Stein.
“My last words to Charlise were, ‘Be a good girl and make us proud,’ and Charlise said, ‘I’m going to rock,’” he told the court.
‘Charlise was a special girl who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, a dream that can now never come true.
‘We got Charlise to school on time every day. The ringing of the school bell – we can hear it from our house – now reminds us of our loss, just like school supplies [ad campaigns]and uniforms.
Clinton Mutten, pictured leaving a sentencing hearing on Friday, said he and his wife Deborah were accused of failing to protect their beloved granddaughter
Mr Mutten, pictured above with his son, also named Clinton, said their trust in their daughter Kallista and her then-partner Justin Stein to care for Charlise was ‘misplaced’
‘Never again will I hear the rush of Charlise’s footsteps after school. Never again will I teach Charlise how to solve a math problem.
“Why was Charlise murdered when she was alone with a person my daughter trusted? Was she hunted down, taken out… murdered while she was begging for her life?
“Did she call my name or someone else’s? These are questions that I don’t think will ever be answered and will be a burden for the rest of my life.”
Mr Mutten said his granddaughter received an annual literacy award named after her at Tweed Heads Public School.
He also revealed that he and his wife had been estranged from their daughter until recently after Charlise’s murder, but that they now realize that “Charlise’s mother is also a victim of this crime,” he said.
He said Stein’s killing of Charlise while the child was with “her beloved mother and someone she saw as a potential father … violates every sense of decency and trust.”
Kallista Mutten was present via video link and also read a victim impact statement, in which she described how she was assaulted by strangers on public transport after Charlise’s murder.
Tweed Heads Public School has named a literacy award after Charlise Mutten (above with a 2021 school award), to honour the ‘bookworm’ who loved reading
One of the last photos of Charlise Mutten, with her mother Kallista, just over two weeks before she was murdered
“My whole life was exposed and put under a magnifying glass for the whole world to see,” Mutten said. “I had no voice, only rumors and fingers pointed at me.
‘I can’t handle looking for a job and people saying I’m not a good mother.
‘Charlise was my biggest fan. And always said I was the best mummy in the world.
“I miss hearing her voice. More than anything, I miss being Charlie’s mother and having her tell me I love her.
‘She was such a kind, smart, good kid and she wasn’t afraid to say nice things to people.
‘My life will never be the same. I won’t see her grow up, go to high school, get her first boyfriend, or get married.
“I’m forced to live with the fact that I trusted someone and by my trust I put my daughter in danger. I blame myself a lot.”
Stein is scheduled to be sentenced Monday. Crown prosecutors have asked for him to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
His defense has asked for a 25-year term (without parole), which means he could potentially be released in 2047, when he is 56 years old.