WARSAW, Mo. (KY3) – The parents of a 4-year-old Stover, Mo. girl are being charged after investigators say their daughter was submerged in an icy pond and beaten to death to remove a ‘demon’.
Delegates arrested Mary S. Mast, 29, and James A. Mast, 28, on Christmas Eve. Mary Mast is accused of endangering a child’s well-being resulting in death and domestic violence. James Mast is accused of endangering a child’s welfare with death, endangering a child’s welfare resulting in serious injury. A judge had no bond for the couple. Deputies placed a second child in custody.
Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, face second-degree murder and other crimes. They both remain imprisoned. Despite sharing the same last name, Mary and James Mast are not related to Ethan Mast.
Deputies responded to a rural house near the town of Cole Camp at 1 a.m. on Sunday, December 30, and found the 4-year-old wrapped in a blanket on a bedroom floor. Investigators said the girl was already dead and had “severe purple bruises” on her body, along with ruptured blisters. Sheriff Knox said the girl’s parents were also beaten along with a 2-year-old child. One son of the couple was apparently unharmed.
Ethan Mast told investigators Saturday that he and Aumen used a leather belt to hit the girl, the statement said. She was then taken to a pond behind the house where she was “submerged” in the water on a day when temperatures were high in the 1940s. Ethan Mast said everyone returned to the victims’ homes afterward. It was not clear when the child died. An autopsy will determine the cause of death. Knox said the evidence indicated she was beaten to death.
Sheriff Eric Knox has released a statement on the case on Facebook.
“I have received many letters, phone calls and emails with concerns about the death of this child and the surrounding circumstances as cult actions. During interviews with researchers and the media, there are some references to God and demons. Additional interviews were conducted with family members, both local and out-of-state, and with others who know the parties involved. None of the actions in this case are sanctioned by the church they attended. The research done so far indicates that this is an isolated incident and NOT the actions of a cult.
When a crime of this magnitude occurs, it affects everyone in the aftermath, from first responders to survivors, the community, the church and beyond. This will remain an ongoing investigation as we wait for the medical examiner’s report and any further information we may be able to develop in time. Further charges can be brought by Benton County Assistant District Attorney Rod Richardson as all evidence is considered. “
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