Woman in Benton County child murder case deemed competent to stand trial again

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman charged in a Benton County child’s death was deemed competent to stand trial again on Monday.

Kourtney Aumen, 26, of Lincoln, Missouri, is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of first-degree assault. Her case was moved to Webster County last year.

The defense had argued in July that she should be in the custody of the Department of Mental Heath but a filing form Monday deemed she was competent. She was previously deemed competent in January 2025.

She and others were accused in the beating and killing of 4-year-old Jessica Mast in December 2020, previous reporting shows. Jessica Mast’s parents – Mary Mast and James Mast – previous pleaded guilty to a number of crimes in the case, previous reporting shows.

Another filing from the defense on Tuesday states that Aumen’s attorney has had issues communicating with her.

“Although the Court has found Ms. Aumen competent to proceed to trial, its order has not eliminated profound communication difficulties between her and counsel,” the filing states. “Communication problems have put counsel in the difficult position of trying to prepare a defense to the first-degree murder charge et al., without her assistance. Absent her assistance, it is also difficult to prepare for depositions of witnesses.”

Aumen is being held at the Benton County Jail. A hearing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday.