The mother of the man accused of murdering schoolgirl Charlise Mutton has defended her son and made extraordinary comments aimed at the nine-year-old's biological mum, calling the situation 'a headache'.
Justin Stein, 31, has been charged over the grisly death after the child's body was discovered in a barrel near the Colo River near Sydney's Blue Mountains on Tuesday, following a five day search.
Annemie Stein revealed she didn't approve of the whirlwind relationship between her son - who went to Cranbrook, one of Sydney's most elite private schools - and the girl's mother, Kallista Mutten.
Social media posts show the pair shared a rapid romance, announcing they were in a relationship about a year after Ms Mutten, a former ice addict who has served jail time, walked free from prison.
The couple later got engaged and Ms Mutten, 31, is now reportedly pregnant with Stein's child.
Stein currently remains behind bars on remand, after being charged with the murder of his nine-year-old stepdaughter Charlise (pictured) shortly after her body was found
Kallista Mutten and Justin Stein (pictured) had a whirlwind romance before becoming engaged and inviting her daughter on the tragic trip to Mount Wilson
'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink, or choose their partners, and sometimes it ends up in a headache like this one,' Ms Stein told the Daily Telegraph.
The 56-year-old said it would be painful for any parent to have a child go through what her son was experiencing because 'parents know their children'.
Ms Stein defended her privately-educated son revealing he had a 'tortured life' despite his wealthy upbringing.
On Wednesday, the alleged killer appeared in Central Local Court where he did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.
His barrister told magistrate Robert Williams that while on remand in prison, Stein needed supplies of medication which he had been taking in high dosage for many years to treat 'mental health problems'.
The antipsychotic medications are used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism.
Justin Stein, 31 (pictured), has been charged over the grisly death after Charlise's body was discovered in a barrel near the Colo River near Sydney's Blue Mountains on Tuesday, following a five day search
Social media posts show the pair shared a rapid romance, announcing they were in a relationship about a year after Ms Mutten (pictured), a former ice addict who has served jail time, walked free from prison.
Ms Stein described what would have been her step-granddaughter as a 'lovely' and 'beautiful' little girl who didn't deserve to die.
Charlise's estranged father also broke his silence saying he was 'heartbroken' by the sad news.
Mr Stein revealed he had not seen his son for 'some time' and was shocked by the tragedy.
Ms Mutten left her daughter in Stein's care last Tuesday, and court documents show detectives allege Stein killed her in the following 15 hours.
Detectives haven't had the opportunity to ask Ms Mutten key questions about the alleged events after the reportedly pregnant mother suffered a 'medical episode' and collapsed one day into the search for her daughter.
The wealthy antique dealer Stein family have owned the Wildenstein property where Charlise was holidaying with their son and her biological mother for two decades.
Ms Stein described what would have been her step-granddaughter (pictured) as a 'lovely' and 'beautiful' little girl who didn't deserve to die
Stein (pictured) is described by his mother as having had a 'tortured' upbringing despite being educated at one of Sydney's most prestigious high schools
Detectives haven't had the opportunity to ask Ms Mutten (pictured) key questions about the alleged events after she suffered a 'medical episode' at the Wildenstein estate
The sprawling estate is currently being operated as a wedding venue by Justin's older brother James and his husband Keegan Buzza with the younger Stein brother staying in a shack on the five-hectare property in past years.
The nine-year-old normally lived fulltime with her grandparents, Deborah and Clint Mutten in the Queensland border town of Coolangatta, but arrived at Wildenstein during the Christmas-New Year school holidays.
Kallista Mutten had relinquished guardianship of Charlise after developing a methamphetamine addiction, failed attempts to undergo rehabilitation and a two year prison stretch for killing a female friend she drove into a river while high on ice.
As police continue to investigate the case, they allege Stein drove approximately 200km towing a boat loaded with a plastic barrel carrying the remains of the nine-year-old over a circuitous five-hour trek.
Police allege Charlise Mutten, 9, was murdered and her body encased in a barrel which was towed for hours in a boat before being dumped on a lonely riverbank in dense bushland
Stein stayed a shack on the five-hectare Wildenstein property (pictured) in past years
Charlise (pictured) had been staying at the Wildenstein property with Stein and her biological mother over the New Years-Christmas holidays when she first went missing
The barrel allegedly lay under a blue tarpaulin in the boat towed by Stein's red Holden ute from the Blue Mountains to Bunnings at Marsden Park, a nearby BP petrol station, and then on to two Sydney boat ramps.
Attempts to dispose of the schoolgirl's remains in the water are said by police to have been thwarted by Stein's inability to launch the motor boat taken from his family's luxury Blue Mountains property.
In the end, after failing to start the boat and take the barrel now also weighted down with sand to sink into deeper water, Stein allegedly took off for the Colo River.
On the afternoon of Thursday, January 13, on a river bank around 80km northwest of Sydney, police say the 31-year-old pulled up his ute in bushland.
Stein then allegedly tried to drag the heavy barrel to the river's edge and roll it in, but the weight of the sand prevented him doing so and finally he was forced to abandon it in the scrub.
