Parents arrested after 4-year-old dies in beating by neighbors, Missouri police say

The parents of a Missouri girl killed by their neighbors after weeks of torture to remove a demon are now charged in her death, authorities say.

James and Mary Mast were arrested Christmas Eve on felony child endangerment charges after their 4-year-old daughter was killed, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Last week, authorities charged the couple’s neighbors — Ethan Mast and Kourtney Aumen — with murder. Authorities say the Masts are not related, despite sharing the same last name.

The parents pleaded not guilty Monday.

On Dec. 20, James Mast reported his daughter died after she was beaten, held underwater in a pond and left to freeze along the shore before being returned to the home, authorities say. The girl’s mother and a 2-year-old child also had been beaten and went to a hospital, authorities say.

The couple told investigators that Mast and Aumen tortured their family for weeks, according to court documents. Mary Mast said the neighbors had beat them “for God” and told her that she and her daughter were “demonic,” authorities say.

On the night of the death, Mary Mast said the neighbors came over and started beating her daughter with a belt and forced her to dunk the child in a pond, according to court documents. Then she had to lay the child on the shoreline and swim in the pond until the neighbors allowed her to stop, Mary Mast told investigators.

It appears this was a “religious-type episode,” Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox told The Associated Press.

The parents say the neighbors beat the child after returning to the pond and forced them to put her to bed without clothes, according to court documents. The father said discovered her dead after the neighbors left, according to court documents.

James Mast told investigators that the neighbors threatened to shoot him if he tried to stop the abuse, according to court documents.

Authorities accused James and Mary Mast of failing to intervene stop the abuse and neglecting to report the beatings to law enforcement. Their 2-year-old son and infant son are in protective custody, authorities say.

Knox told the AP the families attended the same church, which does not condone their actions. In a statement, Knox said he’s heard of concerns that the crimes are the actions of a cult.

“I have received many letters, calls and emails of concern regarding this child’s death and the surrounding circumstances to be the actions of a cult. During interviews with investigators and the media, there have been some references to God and demons. Additional interviews have been held with family members, both local and out of state, as well as others who know the parties involved,” Knox said. “None of the actions contained in this case are condoned by the church they attended. The investigation done so far indicates that this is an isolated incident and NOT the actions of a cult.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 7:31 PM.