R v Stein [2024] NSWSC 1080

R v Stein [2024] NSWSC 1080

The murder was at the top of the range of objective gravity: the nine-year-old victim was vulnerable, sedated by quetiapine, isolated, entrusted to the offender's care, and shot twice with a stolen rifle, including a close-range shot to the face, after which the offender callously concealed and disposed of her body and persistently lied to divert blame. No subjective feature mitigated the offender's moral culpability; he showed no remorse, had poor prospects of rehabilitation, posed a continuing risk, and required strong specific and general deterrence. The Court was satisfied that the community interest in retribution, punishment, deterrence and future protection could only be met by...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
26 August 2024
Procedural Posture
Sentence for Murder Contrary to S 18(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (nsw) / Sentencing After Jury Verdict of Guilty and Conviction
Outcome
The charge of interfering with a corpse was withdrawn by the Crown and dismissed insofar as necessary; Justin Laurens Stein was sentenced to imprisonment for life for the murder of Charlise Mutten.
Legal Topics
['murder' 'mandatory Life Sentence' 'standard Non Parole Period' 'victim Impact Statements' 'remorse' 'rehabilitation' 'community Protection' 'deterrence']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['murder' 'mandatory Life Sentence' 'standard Non Parole Period' 'victim Impact Statements' 'remorse' 'rehabilitation' 'community Protection' 'deterrence']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Sentence for Murder Contrary to S 18(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (nsw) / Sentencing After Jury Verdict of Guilty and Conviction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the offender's culpability was so extreme that s 61 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) mandated imprisonment for life." 'What facts of the offending were established for sentence, including the circumstances of the shooting and disposal of the body.' "Whether any subjective features, including asserted mental illness, substance use, childhood trauma or custodial conditions, mitigated the offender's moral culpability or the gravity of the offence." 'The relevance of remorse, prospects of rehabilitation, protection of the community, deterrence and recognition of harm in determining sentence.' 'How to deal with the charge of interfering with a corpse withdrawn by the Crown.']

Ratio Decidendi

The murder was at the top of the range of objective gravity: the nine-year-old victim was vulnerable, sedated by quetiapine, isolated, entrusted to the offender's care, and shot twice with a stolen rifle, including a close-range shot to the face, after which the offender callously concealed and disposed of her body and persistently lied to divert blame. No subjective feature mitigated the offender's moral culpability; he showed no remorse, had poor prospects of rehabilitation, posed a continuing risk, and required strong specific and general deterrence. The Court was satisfied that the community interest in retribution, punishment, deterrence and future protection could only be met by...

Court Disposition

The charge of interfering with a corpse was withdrawn by the Crown and dismissed insofar as necessary; Justin Laurens Stein was sentenced to imprisonment for life for the murder of Charlise Mutten.

Orders

  • ['The charge of interfering with a corpse is marked as having been withdrawn by the Crown. Insofar as it is necessary to order it, the charge is dismissed.' 'For the murder of Charlise Mutten, on or about 12 January 2022, Justin Laurens Stein is sentenced to imprisonment for life, commencing on 18 January 2022.']