Tragedy Strikes the Cash Family

Tragedy hit the Cash family this week when Courtney Cash, the great-niece of the legendary Johnny Cash, was murdered on March 19, 2014. Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews said that Courtney Cash was found just inside the front door of a home in Putnam County, a rural area in Tennessee in something which was “like a cedar chest, only it was not cedar.” Her boyfriend, William Austin Johnson, suffered a gunshot wound and is currently at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville in stable condition. Their baby, a little girl who is 20-months-old0, was also found at the residence.

Police believe that invited the young couple invited their friend, Wayne Gary Masciarella, 27, to come over and hang out with them. An argument broke out and escalated quickly. Cash was either stabbed to death or shot - reports at this point are conflicting. The autopsy will confirm her cause of death. Masciarella was taken into custody in Cookeville, Tennessee and is being held without bond on a first-degree murder charge. His next court date is April 21. Sheriff Andrews says the suspect has 20 previous charges with his department and that while he can't comment on the murder weapon or a possible motive in the case, he believes it could be drug-related.

“It appears there was an altercation, but to what extent … I’m not free to go into that right now, but there was certainly some kind of altercation," Andrews reported. "This was a senseless, tragic death of a young lady whose life was probably taken as a direct or indirect result of drugs, and that's just the world we live in. It's just unfortunate that our people in our society lean so heavily on drugs to get through life." After watching his girlfriend die and being shot himself, it appears that Johnson grabbed their child and ran, calling for emergency services.

Tommy Cash, the victim’s grandfather and the younger brother of the late Johnny Cash, released the following statement, asking for prayers ... "We ask for your prayers for the Cash family at this time. Courtney and her boyfriend are beloved members of my family and like you we have a lot of questions and emotions that we are beginning to sort through today. We ask for you to respect our privacy and appreciate all the support that the public and media has always offered my family, as we handle the loss of my grand-daughter, pray for the father of my great-grand child and journey through the search for justice on this violent act. We are completely heartbroken. It is a time like this that we are grateful for our faith and trusting the loving guidance of God."

Please join the MusicTimes family as we pray for the Cash family and for a little girl who will never again know her mother's love.

WSMV Channel 4

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