Tragedy in Australia ....

[honestbroker1]

Police have confirmed that remains found in a barrel in rural Australia are “consistent” with those of a nine-year old girl who disappeared on a family holiday.

Charlise Mutten’s stepfather, Justin Stein, has been charged with murder after her body was found in dense bushland near the Colo River, about an hour north of where she disappeared last week in the Blue Mountains national park, west of Sydney.

Stein, 31, was caught by police after being captured on CCTV discussing buying sandbags from a hardware shop. He was then tracked using GPS driving to the location where the body was found.


Although the remains have yet to be formally identified, Karen Webb, the New South Wales acting police commissioner, said they were “consistent with the missing nine-year -old”.

Mutten’s disappearance triggered a massive manhunt. More than 200 police and hundreds of firefighters and volunteers combed dense scrubland in the Blue Mountains, a popular holiday destination. The search went on for five days, often in heavy rain.

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The hunt for Charlise Mutten involved hundreds of police, firefighters and volunteers, who searched for five days
The hunt for Charlise Mutten involved hundreds of police, firefighters and volunteers, who searched for five days
STEVEN SAPHORE/EPA
Paul Toole, the New South Wales deputy premier and minister for police, said: “People across the country have been hoping for a good outcome,” he said. ‘Today’s news is not what we want to hear. I mean, this is horrible. This is horrific. This is shocking.”

Police believe Charlise’s mother Kallista left her in the care of Stein on Tuesday night last week, and that she was murdered by him shortly afterwards.

They also disclosed that they stepped up their scrutiny of Stein’s movements after trawling through CCTV and GPS data. This included him allegedly discussing buying 20kg sandbags from a hardware shop following “a number of telephone conversations with the girl’s mother”.

It also included buying fuel for a boat and then trying to float the boat on the water at one of the docks in inner Sydney. Police said this was unsuccessful as the “boat was inoperable”.

According to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, police will also allege that Stein — the fiancé of Kallista Mutten, Charlise’s mother — drove around Sydney for five hours with the girl’s body in the back of the boat while trying to work out what to do with her.

Police believe he tried in vain to drag the barrel to the river, but was forced to abandon it in bushland nearby.

Detectives tracked Stein to a flat in a government-owned apartment block in inner Sydney, arresting and charging him with murder last night.

David Hudson, New South Wales’s deputy police commissioner, said: “What we are sure of is that the accused that we charged with murder was responsible for, firstly, placing her in a barrel, and then disposing of that barrel in the bushland where she was located.”

Karen Webb, the NSW police acting commissioner, announced the discovery of the body
Karen Webb, the NSW police acting commissioner, announced the discovery of the body
FLAVIO BRANCALEONE/PA
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Stein’s parents are believed to own the multimillion-dollar estate at Mount Wilson where the girl had been staying with him and her mother when she disappeared last week.

The couple reported Charlise missing on Friday morning, saying that they had last seen her on Thursday afternoon. Police believe she was killed between 7pm on the previous Tuesday and 10am the next morning. They are now waiting to speak to the mother, who is in hospital under guard.

Hudson said: “At this stage we have no evidence to support whether the accused acted alone. However, it is still early days.”

The hunt for Charlise captured the attention of the Australian public in a similar way to the search for four-year old Cleo Smith, which made headlines around the world when she was rescued by police 18 days after being abducted from campsite in a remote part of Western Australia. Many Australians were clinging onto hope that there would be a similarly happy ending in this case.

Scott Morrison, the prime minister, appeared overcome with emotion during a press conference today after being informed by a reporter that a body had been found. Moments earlier, unaware of the latest developments, he had declared he was still “praying for a good outcome”.

Dozens of mourners held a candlelit vigil outside the front gates of Charlise’s school on the Gold Coast, where she lived under the full time custody of her grandparents.

The gathering included friends, family and fellow class mates, many of them laying flowers and tributes.

[Alibongo]

That's just horrifying, I hope the Mother isn't involved in any way.