Two people living in Missouri's Benton County have been charged with second-degree murder of a four-year-old child who police say was tortured for weeks before her death. According to a probable cause statement issued by Benton County Sergeant Chris Wilson, the child's body was found at her family home wrapped in a pink blanket and covered in bruises from her neck to her feet. The child's father, James Mast, 28, had called the police stating that had been beaten and submerged in a pond neighbours Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, to rid her of a "demon".
According to the probable cause statement, James Mast told investigators that Mast and Aumen were neighbours who attended the same church that they did. Despite having the same surname, Ethan Mast is not related to the family of his victim. The child's ordeal reportedly began when they told the girl's parents that she was possessed in the same way that her mother was and that she and their other two children "would end up just like her if it was not taken care of," Mast and Aumen then proceeded to beat the child over the course of two weeks and then threatened to shoot James Mast and his remaining family if he or his wife attempted to intervene. Mast and Aumen reportedly told them that "Satan would come" if they attempted to protect their children from harm. Both Ethan Mast and Kourtney Aumen are currently being held without bond.
In his own statement to police, Ethan Mast stated that he and Aumen used a leather belt to beat the girl on Dec. 19 and that she e was then taken to a pond behind the home and "dunked" in the water in near-freezing temperatures. Though she was returned to her home, it still isn't clear exactly when she died. James Mast and his wife, Mary Mast, 29, were also severely beaten as was the couple's two-year-old son. Their youngest child was not harmed. After being taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries, James and Mary Mast were arrested for felony child endangerment resulting in death and are jailed without bond. The two remaining Mast children have been taken into protective custody. Though James and Mary Mast asked permission to attend their daughter's funeral, this request was denied.
In an official statement released by the Benton County Sheriff's department, the killing and abuse was a "“religious-type episode" by the people involved and not the activity of a larger cult despite earlier speculation. Hearings are scheduled for January 5 to determine how the case will proceed.
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