Charlise Mutten key evidence still missing as stepfather is kept in Silverwater prison

The gun that was allegedly used to shoot and kill nine-year-old schoolgirl Charlise Mutten has yet to be found.

Detectives are still searching for the vital piece of evidence since launching their investigation after discovering the girl’s body by the Colo River, in NSW’s Blue Mountains, on January 18.

Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said there was no doubt the little girl had died after receiving a gunshot wound.

‘That’s how she died, so we are disclosing this for investigative reasons but also to clear up any ambiguity to make sure we have some clarity for the investigation,’ he said.

‘And any other thoughts that this may not be anything but what this is – an alleged murder of a nine-year-old girl.’

Stein has been charged with murder and is currently being kept in the Silverwater Correctional Complex

Investigators have failed to find the missing weapon, traces of blood or gunshot residue despite scouring rivers, bushland and the accused killer stepfather Justin Stein’s family estate Wildenstein, in Mount Wilson

Investigators have failed to find the missing weapon, traces of blood or gunshot residue despite scouring rivers, bushland and the accused killer stepfather Justin Stein’s family estate Wildenstein, in Mount Wilson.  

Stein has been charged with murder and is currently being kept in the Silverwater Correctional Complex. Detective Doherty said Stein was not a registered gun owner. 

‘The inquiries and evidence and information we’ve received suggests that the alleged murder happened at Mount Wilson at the property,’ he said.

‘The time frames and evidence we’ve gathered so far suggest that’s where the alleged murder happened.’

The search comes as a resident recalled the distressing moment she heard Kallista Mutten screaming and crying in the corridor of a western Sydney unit block after discovering the shocking details of how her nine-year-old daughter died.

The woman, who asked not to be named, was at home on Tuesday when she heard a neighbour crying out in distress.

‘I heard her yelling and crying…she was saying ‘I just found out my daughter was killed by a gun shot’,’ the neighbour said.

The neighbour said she looked out her front door and saw a ‘larger woman with pink hair’, who matched the pictures she had seen in the media of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten’s mother. 

Charlise’s body was found stuffed in a barrel and dumped near the Colo River, in the Hawkesbury region, on January 18, five days after she was reported missing.

Ms Mutten’s fiance Justin Stein has been charged with murder. 

Mutten was consoled by another resident in the flat – which is owned and operated by a charity – as she tearfully revealed she was expecting a child with Stein

But it was on Tuesday that police announced the findings of a post-mortem and that the little girl died from a gunshot wound. 

‘She was saying police never told her how her daughter actually died…until it was on the news,’ the neighbour said. 

Ms Mutten only moved into the building this week following a lengthy stint in hospital under medical supervision after she suffered an ‘episode’ in the hours after reporting Charlise missing.

The charity-run building houses single parents, pregnant women and vulnerable people needing urgent temporary accommodation.

The neighbour said she then heard another woman in the building comfort Ms Mutten, who then tearfully revealed she was pregnant.

‘I heard her say she’s pregnant,’ the neighbour said.

Nine-year-old Charlise was allegedly shot once before her body was stuffed into a barrel and dumped in scrub near the Colo River 

Charlise was visiting her mother for the summer holidays when she was allegedly murdered by her mother’s fiancé 

Mutten only moved into the building this week following a lengthy stint in hospital under medical supervision after she suffered an ‘episode’ in the hours after reporting Charlise missing

Kallista Mutten (above) seen at Wildenstein after having a ‘medical episode’ which resulted in  her being taken to Katoomba Hopsital for a week 

Daily Mail Australia can reveal Mutten started ‘yelling and crying’ in the corridors of the western Sydney unit where she’s staying after police said in a press conference that Charlise died by bullet wound 

Ms Mutten was then spoken to by caretakers in the building, before going back inside her unit.

Residents said they had not seen Ms Mutten in the days afterwards, but that it wasn’t uncommon not to see people coming and going with so many entrances and exits.   

Detectives confirmed Ms Mutten is being treated as a witness in her daughter’s tragic death, and had provided a lengthy statement.

Charlise was allegedly murdered while holidaying with her mother in the NSW Blue Mountains. 

The mother and daughter had been staying with Stein at his family’s estate Wildenstein in Mount Wilson, and partly at a caravan 50 minutes away.

Mutten was unavailable to be interviewed in the early stages of the murder investigation because she was too traumatised and ‘difficult to reach’. Her fiance, Stein (pictured together) was charged with murder

Charlise usually resided with her doting grandmother (pictured together) in Coolangatta but was visiting her mother for the summer holidays

Police said Charlise was alone in the care of Stein on the night of January 11 when she was allegedly murdered, and her body dumped in a blue barrel. 

Stein was arrested in the hours after the young girl’s body was discovered, where he was staying with a mate in a block of 20 flats in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

The complex is strewn with furniture – and a series of bizarre handwritten notes are displayed on residents’ front doors. 

Jason Tucker said Stein had not seemed stressed when he arrived at his home after Charlise’s death, but told him he wanted to stay for a few days.

‘Justin’s never got a bad thing to say, he hasn’t got a bad bone in his body,’ Mr Tucker said.

Justin Stein’s friend Jason Tucker (pictured) who housed the alleged murderer for days said the accused killer was ‘relaxed’ and ‘unconcerned’ in the days leading to his arrest

He said Stein’s stay at the housing block, w was uneventful until police arrived to arrest him last Tuesday night.

When officers stormed through Mr Tucker’s front door to arrest Stein, it was ‘scary’ and ‘alarming’, he said.

But the drama was quickly over.

Stein was placed in handcuffs without commotion before asking his friend to call his mother to tell her to arrange a lawyer.

Jason Tucker said Justin Stein just ‘basically ate and slept’ in the days after he left Mount Wilson. Above is the complex Mr Tucker lives in – and where Stein stayed in the days before Charlise’s body was found

The housing block in Surry Hills where Justin Stein stayed in the days before his arrest has forbidding signs and rubbish littering the halls of the 20 unit block

When police arrived and stormed through the front door to come up to his flat (pictured) to arrest Stein, it had been ‘scary’ and ‘alarming’, Mr Tucker said