Two of four defendants facing charges in connection to the death of a four-year-old Benton County girl in December are scheduled to be in court on Wednesday.
During the early morning hours of December 20, Benton County authorities were called to a residence in reference to a 4-year-old female who was deceased. Jessica Mast had allegedly been beaten, submerged in a pond, then left to freeze on the bank before being taken back into the residence. The girl’s mother, Mary Mast and a 2-year-old male child had also reportedly been beaten to a severe extent.
According to online court documents, 35-year-old Ethan Joel Mast and 21-year-old Kourtney Aumen, who were the first to be charged, are facing a Class A Felony for Murder in the Second Degree; three counts of a Class A Felony for Assault in the First Degree- Serious Physical Injury; and a Class C Felony for Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. Each is being held without bond.