Achi news desk-
A man who allegedly shot his fiancee’s nine-year-old daughter while she was staying with him at a property in the Blue Mountains will face a murder trial within weeks.
Justin Stein has pleaded not guilty to murdering Charlise Mutten, whose disappearance in January 2022 prompted a major search effort.
A trial date of May 6 was confirmed during a Supreme Court hearing on Monday.
A five-day bush search ended after Charlise’s body was found in a barrel abandoned near the Colo River north-west of Sydney.
Police later said an autopsy found she died of a gunshot wound.
According to court documents, Charlise was murdered between 7pm on January 11, and 10am on January 12, 2022, in Mount Wilson, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
She was reported missing on January 14.
The tragic fate of the young girl triggered an outpouring of grief, including from the prime minister at the time, Scott Morrison.
“You hope for the best, you pray for it, but it doesn’t always happen,” Mr Morrison said at the time.
Vigils were held outside the gates of Tweed Heads Public School, where Charlise was a student.
“Charlie was a much-loved member of our school who brightened all our days, every day,” the school said in a statement.
