Judge approves change of venue request in child death case

WARSAW, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Benton County judge has approved a change of venue request for a woman accused of killing a child.

Prosecutors have charged Kourtney Aumen and three other people in the December 2020 death of 4-year-old Jessica Mast. According to court documents, the child's mother, father, Aumen and another man abused the girl and another child before Mast's death.

Court documents claim those involved implicated Aumen as the driving force behind the abuse of the Masts' three children, as well as the couple themselves. Other defendants allegedly told deputies they believed that a demon possessed one of the women, and that they had abused the children to avoid it possessing them.

Judge Brandon Baker approved the request on Wednesday to send Aumen's case to Webster County.

The legal team for Aumen filed in December a request to dismiss the charges filed against her. A judge has also previously declined to set a bond for Aumen.