Woman denied bond in Benton County child murder case
WARSAW, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Benton County judge denied setting a bond for a woman accused of taking part in the death of a toddler.
Kourtney Aumen made her second appearance in front of Judge Mark Pilley since her arrest in December. Law enforcement believes she and three others abused 4-year-old Jessica Mast to death late last year. Prosecutors charged her alongside Ethan Mast and the girl's parents, James and Mary Mast.
Pilley denied a request from Aumen's attorney, Joseph Passanisse, to set a bond. Passanisse requested a similar bond Pilley gave to James and Mary Mast -- a $500,000 cash or surety bond and GPS monitoring. Passanisse referred to Aumen as a victim in the case herself at the hands of others in the case.
Assistant prosecuting Attorney Rod Richardson once more opposed any change in bond. He questioned Aumen's local ties since her family lives in Pennsylvania.
Pilley said he saw Aumen's role in the case, based on the Benton County Sheriff's Office's probable cause statement, as different than the Mast parents. James and Mary, he said, had seemingly committed crimes of "omission" by standing by while the alleged abuse took place, while Aumen had instigated it.
Court documents claim those involved implicated Aumen as the driving force behind the abuse of Mary and James' three children, as well as the couple themselves. Other defendants allegedly told deputies they believed a demon possessed one of the women, and that they had abused the children to avoid it possessing them.
Passanisse did not argue his motion to dismiss the charges, instead passing the issue to an April 21 hearing. Both sides of the case are still waiting on results of the autopsy done on Jessica Mast. Richardson said the autopsy was done, but that medical examiners requested other pieces of evidence to help construct a timeline of events.
Passanisse said the autopsy results would be crucial for the case moving forward. He mentioned the timeline is important since Aumen was allegedly not with Jessica Mast when her father found the girl dead in her bedroom.
The charges themselves could also change as the case progresses. Passanisse said the prosecutor informed him he was considering amending the charges against those involved. Richardson did not say in court whether it would be enhanced or reduced charges.
