Parents of four-year-old Missouri girl who was 'beaten to death and plunged into icy pond by her neighbors' plead not guilty to child endangerment - as judges BANS them from attending her funeral
The parents of a four-year-old Missouri girl allegedly killed by her neighbors have pleaded not guilty to charges of child endangerment.
Mary Mast, 29, and James Mast, 28, entered the pleas on Monday - eight days after their little girl, Jessica, was found dead at their home in Lincoln.
Investigators assert that Jessica was killed by neighbors Ethan Mast (no relation) and Kourtney Aumen during a 'religious-type episode'.
The parents and the neighbors were members of the same church, which has not been publicly identified.
It's believed Jessica was severely beaten and dunked in an icy pond by both Ethan Mast and Aumen, who were trying to remove a 'demon' from insider her.
The pair have now been charged with second-degree murder, assault and sexual abuse.
Jessica was found dead on December 20, her body covered in blisters and 'severe purple bruising'.
Her parents have been denied permission to attend her funeral and they remain behind bars pending a bond hearing on January 5th.
Four-year-old Jessica Mast was found dead at her home in Lincoln, Missouri last week. She had allegedly been beaten by neighbors Ethan Mast and Kourtney Aumen before they plunged her into an icy pond. Jessica's parents, James and Mary, have now pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges
Mary Mast , 29, and James Mast , 28, have pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges - eight days after their little girl, Jessica, was found dead at their home in Lincoln,Missouri
According to The Daily Beast, James Mast told investigators that young Jessica had been beaten by Ethan Mast and Aumen for around two weeks before she died.
He and his wife were also allegedly forced to perform 'sex acts' on their little girl with a 'foreign object' or they too would be beaten or shot.
Ethan Mast and Aumen are said to have set up surveillance cameras inside James and Mary Mast's home in order to watch them and make sure they complied with the demands.
However, the cameras were reportedly switched off when the neighbors arrived at the home and beat Jessica themselves.
The New York Daily News reports that Ethan Mast allegedly confessed that he and Aumen used a leather belt to beat the four-year-old on December 19.
She was then taken to a pond behind the home where she was 'dunked' in the water on a day when high temperatures were in the 40s.
Ethan Mast said everyone then returned to the victims' home. It wasn't clear when Jessica died.
Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, were charged with second-degree murder, assault and sexual abuse for allegedly torturing their neighbor's four-year-old girl, Jessica
A statement from Benton County Sgt Chris Wilson said Jessica was already dead when he was called to the home the following day.
Mary Mast reportedly admitted that she also participated in dunkingher daughter in the pond.
She claims her neighbors convinced her that she also was possessed with a demon and that she had passed the bad spirit on to young Jessica.
'This has been a huge God thing that they convinced us of,' Mary allegedly told investigators.
While James and Mary Mast may have been brainwashed by their neighbors, Sgt Wilson still asked the parents 'how they could let people do this to their family.'
'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,' Knox said last Thursday.
Meanwhile, James and Mary Mast's two younger children have now been placed into foster care.
A candlelight vigil was held in Lincoln on Monday night in order to remember young Jessica. KY3 shared footage of the event.
The town, with about 19,000 residents, is located 100 miles southeast of Kansas City, Missouri.
'When a crime of this magnitude occurs, it affects everyone in its aftermath from first responders to next of kin, community and beyond,' Knox stated.
A candlelight vigil was held in Lincoln on Monday night in order to remember young Jessica. KY3 shared footage of the event
Lincoln, a town with about 19,000 residents, is located 100 miles southeast of Kansas City, Missouri