Tweed Heads Public School ‘devastated’ as vigils held for 9-year-old Charlise Mutten
Heartbreaking details surrounding a picture of Charlise Mutten that has been widely shared since her disappearance have been revealed.
A picture of nine-year-old Charlise Mutten that has been widely shared since her disappearance was revealed to be the last photo taken of the schoolgirl at Tweed Heads Public School.
In a devastating post, the girl’s school said the community is “absolutely devastated” after the news that the body of a child had been found in a barrel in NSW’s Blue Mountains on Tuesday night.
Justin Stein, the stepfather of the missing schoolgirl, has since been charged with murder.
The school, on the Gold Coast, shared a photo of Charlise on Wednesday, describing her as “a much-loved member of our school who brightened all our days, every day”.
In a heartbreaking reveal, it shared “our last photo of Charlise”, an image of the young girl “from our 2021 presentation day where she received her class award for literacy”.
“Our hearts go out to her family, we cannot begin to imagine the distress they must feel,” the school said.
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‘Turning out in tears’
Around 150 locals gathered at a candlelight vigil held at the front gates of the school at about 7.15pm Wednesday night, with teachers and students “turning out in tears with tributes”, according to Nine News’ Annie Pullar.
Parents and school friends placed flowers and notes at gates of the school, while federal Richmond MP Justine Elliot said the community is devastated.
“Our hearts are broken, i’ts such a terrible time and so many people in the community have contacted me feeling heartbroken today.,” she said.
Nine-year-old London McGrath, a schoolfriend of Charlise, told The Daily Telegraph one of her favourite memories with her friend was the recent award ceremony.
“We got awards together and were standing up together,” she told the publication.
A note on the school’s notice board on Tuesday read: “Don’t count the days, make the days count”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his thoughts were with the family after the unfortunate end to the search.
“You hope for the best, you pray for it, but it doesn’t always occur,” Mr Morrison said.
Hundreds of people have gathered in front of the Tweed Heads school where Charlise Mutten had attended, to pay their respects at a candlelit vigil. @7NewsBrisbane@7NewsSydney@7NewsGoldCoastpic.twitter.com/k2QKbhR0V2
— Carly Madsen (@Carly_Madsen) January 19, 2022
Time of death
Court documents reveal the little girl was killed between 7pm on Tuesday January 11 and 10am January 12, but police were not made aware of her disappearance until days later.
First reports of Charlise’s disappearance were at 8.20am on Friday January 14, though police were told she was last seen some time on Thursday afternoon.
The nine-year-old girl was on holiday with her mother Kallista Mutten and stepdad Justin Laurens Stein at a wedding estate in Mt Wilson.
This sparked a major air and ground search of the bushland surrounding the property.
Yesterday, officers attached to Strike Force Buena conducted a search in the vicinity of the Colo River, about an hour’s drive from where Charlise went missing.
The body of a child was located in a barrel. The body is yet to be formally identified but Acting Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the remains were “consistent with the missing nine-year-old”.
Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said while investigators are still uncertain of exactly what happened, they were “certain” about a number of facts.
“Things will unravel over the next week or so to find a cause of death, the purpose for a death, and try and identify exactly what happened so that the remaining family have some comfort in that,” he told reporters.
Key item found in alleged killer’s boat
The stepfather of the missing schoolgirl, Justin Stein, was arrested at a unit in Surry Hills at 8.30pm on Tuesday night and charged with murder after declining to be formally interviewed by investigators.
Detectives allege Stein drove around Sydney for up to five hours with Charlise’s body in the back of his boat while he tried to work out where to dump her, according to an exclusive report by The Daily Telegraph.
Police will allege Stein placed Charlise’s body in the barrel.
Homicide detectives retraced Stein’s steps after he allegedly purchased five 20kg bags of sand from Bunnings, fuelled up his boat and tried to launch it from an inner-Sydney dock.
They also allegedly found a blue tarpaulin in the back of the boat, which was inoperable.
Police allege Stein ended up hiding the heavy barrel containing Charlise’s body in dense bushland after struggling to dump it in the Colo River.
The barrel was found late on Tuesday, after a wide-scale investigation was launched last week.
At about 8.30pm last night police attended a unit on Riley Street, Surry Hills, and arrested 31-year-old Stein, who is engaged to Charlise’s mother.
Acting Commissioner Webb said the cause of Charlise’s death is yet to be determined and the investigation remains ongoing.
“The search will remain ongoing to look for any clues to help us identify the cause of the death,” she said.
Stein, 31, faced court on Wednesday charged with murder after being arrested at a Surry Hills unit.
According to AAP, Stein’s lawyer revealed his client had been prescribed a large dose of antipsychotic drugs for years.
The case is due back in court on March 18 in Penrith.
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