Jessica Joy Mast, age 4 years and 7 months, went to be with our Lord Sunday, December 20, 2020. Jessica was born in Lincoln, Missouri on May 22, 2016, to her parents, James and Mary Mast.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by her brothers, Nathaniel Mast and Justin Mast; paternal grandparents, Ervin and Lorene Mast; maternal grandparents, George and Marian Leid; uncles, aunts and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Nathan Mast.
Jessica was a sweet and beautiful child who loved to sing Jesus Loves Me and recite Psalm 23. She enjoyed storytime and reading to her brothers. Jessica was known for her friendly and outgoing personality. Her aspiration was to be like her mother.
" A 4-year-old girl died after being dunked in an icy pond and beaten by two neighbors who claimed it was necessary to remove a “demon,” a Missouri sheriff said Tuesday."
Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, are charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. Both are jailed without bond and don’t yet have attorneys, according to court records.
“Based on what I know, I think this could be some kind of honest-to-goodness religious-type episode,” Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox said in a phone interview. The suspects and the victimized family belonged to the same church, but Knox declined to name the church or its denomination.
Deputies were called around 1 a.m. Sunday to a rural home near the town of Cole Camp and found the 4-year-old wrapped in a blanket on a bedroom floor. A probable cause statement from Sgt. Chris Wilson said the girl was already dead and had “severe purple bruising” over her body, along with ruptured blisters.
Knox said the girl’s parents also had been beaten along with a 2-year-old child. An infant son of the couple was apparently unharmed. The mother, 28-year-old Mary Mast, and the toddler are hospitalized. Their conditions weren’t immediately available. The father of the children, James Mast, did not require hospitalization.
Despite having the same last names, Mary and James Mast are not related to Ethan Mast, Knox said.
Ethan Mast and Aumen live across the road from the family. James Mast told investigators that the beatings had occurred over several days and that he and his wife observed them but were told they would be beaten or shot if they tried to intervene.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home of Versailles.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by her brothers, Nathaniel Mast and Justin Mast; paternal grandparents, Ervin and Lorene Mast; maternal grandparents, George and Marian Leid; uncles, aunts and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Nathan Mast.
Jessica was a sweet and beautiful child who loved to sing Jesus Loves Me and recite Psalm 23. She enjoyed storytime and reading to her brothers. Jessica was known for her friendly and outgoing personality. Her aspiration was to be like her mother.
" A 4-year-old girl died after being dunked in an icy pond and beaten by two neighbors who claimed it was necessary to remove a “demon,” a Missouri sheriff said Tuesday."
Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, are charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. Both are jailed without bond and don’t yet have attorneys, according to court records.
“Based on what I know, I think this could be some kind of honest-to-goodness religious-type episode,” Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox said in a phone interview. The suspects and the victimized family belonged to the same church, but Knox declined to name the church or its denomination.
Deputies were called around 1 a.m. Sunday to a rural home near the town of Cole Camp and found the 4-year-old wrapped in a blanket on a bedroom floor. A probable cause statement from Sgt. Chris Wilson said the girl was already dead and had “severe purple bruising” over her body, along with ruptured blisters.
Knox said the girl’s parents also had been beaten along with a 2-year-old child. An infant son of the couple was apparently unharmed. The mother, 28-year-old Mary Mast, and the toddler are hospitalized. Their conditions weren’t immediately available. The father of the children, James Mast, did not require hospitalization.
Despite having the same last names, Mary and James Mast are not related to Ethan Mast, Knox said.
Ethan Mast and Aumen live across the road from the family. James Mast told investigators that the beatings had occurred over several days and that he and his wife observed them but were told they would be beaten or shot if they tried to intervene.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home of Versailles.
Jessica Joy Mast, age 4 years and 7 months, went to be with our Lord Sunday, December 20, 2020. Jessica was born in Lincoln, Missouri on May 22, 2016, to her parents, James and Mary Mast.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by her brothers, Nathaniel Mast and Justin Mast; paternal grandparents, Ervin and Lorene Mast; maternal grandparents, George and Marian Leid; uncles, aunts and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Nathan Mast.
Jessica was a sweet and beautiful child who loved to sing Jesus Loves Me and recite Psalm 23. She enjoyed storytime and reading to her brothers. Jessica was known for her friendly and outgoing personality. Her aspiration was to be like her mother.
" A 4-year-old girl died after being dunked in an icy pond and beaten by two neighbors who claimed it was necessary to remove a “demon,” a Missouri sheriff said Tuesday."
Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, are charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. Both are jailed without bond and don’t yet have attorneys, according to court records.
“Based on what I know, I think this could be some kind of honest-to-goodness religious-type episode,” Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox said in a phone interview. The suspects and the victimized family belonged to the same church, but Knox declined to name the church or its denomination.
Deputies were called around 1 a.m. Sunday to a rural home near the town of Cole Camp and found the 4-year-old wrapped in a blanket on a bedroom floor. A probable cause statement from Sgt. Chris Wilson said the girl was already dead and had “severe purple bruising” over her body, along with ruptured blisters.
Knox said the girl’s parents also had been beaten along with a 2-year-old child. An infant son of the couple was apparently unharmed. The mother, 28-year-old Mary Mast, and the toddler are hospitalized. Their conditions weren’t immediately available. The father of the children, James Mast, did not require hospitalization.
Despite having the same last names, Mary and James Mast are not related to Ethan Mast, Knox said.
Ethan Mast and Aumen live across the road from the family. James Mast told investigators that the beatings had occurred over several days and that he and his wife observed them but were told they would be beaten or shot if they tried to intervene.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home of Versailles.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by her brothers, Nathaniel Mast and Justin Mast; paternal grandparents, Ervin and Lorene Mast; maternal grandparents, George and Marian Leid; uncles, aunts and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Nathan Mast.
Jessica was a sweet and beautiful child who loved to sing Jesus Loves Me and recite Psalm 23. She enjoyed storytime and reading to her brothers. Jessica was known for her friendly and outgoing personality. Her aspiration was to be like her mother.
" A 4-year-old girl died after being dunked in an icy pond and beaten by two neighbors who claimed it was necessary to remove a “demon,” a Missouri sheriff said Tuesday."
Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, are charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. Both are jailed without bond and don’t yet have attorneys, according to court records.
“Based on what I know, I think this could be some kind of honest-to-goodness religious-type episode,” Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox said in a phone interview. The suspects and the victimized family belonged to the same church, but Knox declined to name the church or its denomination.
Deputies were called around 1 a.m. Sunday to a rural home near the town of Cole Camp and found the 4-year-old wrapped in a blanket on a bedroom floor. A probable cause statement from Sgt. Chris Wilson said the girl was already dead and had “severe purple bruising” over her body, along with ruptured blisters.
Knox said the girl’s parents also had been beaten along with a 2-year-old child. An infant son of the couple was apparently unharmed. The mother, 28-year-old Mary Mast, and the toddler are hospitalized. Their conditions weren’t immediately available. The father of the children, James Mast, did not require hospitalization.
Despite having the same last names, Mary and James Mast are not related to Ethan Mast, Knox said.
Ethan Mast and Aumen live across the road from the family. James Mast told investigators that the beatings had occurred over several days and that he and his wife observed them but were told they would be beaten or shot if they tried to intervene.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Kidwell-Garber Funeral Home of Versailles.
