The legal team in the long-running Benton County child murder case is asking a judge to move the woman accused of beating and killing 4-year-old Jessica Mast out of the county jail and into the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, arguing she needs treatment in a hospital. The defense says 26-year-old Kourtney Aumen of Lincoln, Missouri, was recently evaluated in jail and found incompetent to stand trial. She remains held without bond while her lawyers push for a transfer to a medical facility where they say her competency can be restored under proper clinical supervision.
According to a court filing obtained by ABC 17 News, Aumen had been found competent in January 2025, but at that time was taking 11 medications and was ordered into Department of Mental Health custody on May 14, 2025. The defense now says that order was never carried out. A more recent evaluation at the jail this month concluded that she is currently incompetent to stand trial and that any attempt to restore competency should happen in a hospital setting. The motion asks the court to place Aumen back in DMH custody so treatment can begin outside the jail.
Case Background and Co-Defendants
The charges trace back to December 2020, when Benton County investigators say 4-year-old Jessica Mast was fatally abused, beaten and submerged in a pond during what authorities described as a religious-type episode. Reporting by Law&Crime notes that neighbor Ethan Mast pleaded guilty in 2022, and that Jessica’s parents have also entered guilty pleas to multiple counts connected to the case. The prosecutions have dragged on for years, with venue changes, a series of plea agreements and a steady stream of pretrial motions reshaping the court calendar.
Files, Orders and Timeline
According to the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo Section 552.020 on revisor.mo.gov), a circuit court may order the Department of Mental Health to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of a criminal defendant.
“It is apparent that if Defendant Aumen is to be restored to competency, those efforts must be administered in a hospital setting,” the filing states. As reported by ABC 17 News, the motion highlights the May 14, 2025 DMH custody order that defense attorneys say was never implemented and urges the Webster County court to enforce the transfer. A hearing on the request is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12. Online jail records still list Aumen in Benton County custody while the dispute over where she should be held plays out.
Legal Implications
Aumen is charged with first-degree murder and several related felonies. Under Missouri law, first-degree murder is a Class A felony that can carry life in prison for adults and, in certain circumstances, capital punishment. RSMo 565.020 outlines the penalties for first-degree murder, and RSMo 571.015 allows courts to add penalties for armed criminal action on top of the underlying sentences. If the judge orders a transfer to DMH, state officials would focus on treatment and competency restoration first, which can delay the criminal case and force the court to adjust any future trial schedule.
The Aug. 12 hearing is expected to draw close attention from prosecutors and family members who have been watching the case since 2020, since any move to send Aumen to a state facility would likely reshape the path to trial and eventual sentencing. Until the court rules, the core question remains whether treatment in a hospital, rather than continued detention in a county jail, is the right way to address Aumen’s competency and protect the integrity of the criminal proceedings.
