Neighbors claimed 4-year-olds death was needed to “remove a demon”

COLE CAMP, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri sheriff says a 4-year-old girl died after being dunked in an icy pond and beaten by two neighbors who claimed it was necessary to remove a “demon.“

Ethan Mast and Kourtney Aumen are charged with second-degree murder and other offenses.

Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox says the crime appears to be the result of “some kind of honest-to-goodness religious-type episode.”

Deputies were called Sunday to a rural home near the town of Cole Camp and found the 4-year-old wrapped in a blanket.

A probable cause statement says she had severe bruising and blisters over her body.