Murder charge filed in beating death of four-year-old.

A murder charge was filed Monday morning by the Benton County prosecutor in the beating death of a four-year-old child.

Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21, both from Cole Camp, were arrested in the investigation. They each face charges of second-degree murder, felony assault, and child abuse.

Published sources say, “A four-year-old girl died Sunday morning near Cole Camp. Investigators responded to a home near Buckskin Lane around 1 a.m. Sunday. Sheriff Eric Knox says the girl was beaten from head-to-toe. Sheriff Knox says the child’s father told authorities his daughter “had been beaten, submerged in a pond, then left to freeze on the bank before being taken back into the residence.” Investigators say the couple did it to beat the demon or evil out the mother and the child.”

Investigators state that the mother of the child who died and his two-year-old brother were both found severely beaten. Both are currently recovering at a Sedalia hospital.

The investigation is ongoing.