Courtney Cash: Family of Johnny Cash's great niece calls for re-investigation 9 years after her brutal murder
COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE: The family of Courtney Cash, Johnny Cash’s great niece and a mother-of-one who was found stabbed to death in 2014 while being stuffed in a box, continues to search for answers as they urged the investigators to re-open the murder case. Courtney’s mother, Cindy said on Saturday, March 18, “We’re requesting for them to even just look at their own records, their own reporting, their own investigating.”
According to WKRN, the mother who is now raising Courtney’s 10-year-old daughter, Cameryn, said she obtained a police report for Courtney’s death case she didn’t know existed. Cindy further added, “It’s just heartbreaking because I can’t be her mother. It’s just hard. It’s just so hard.”
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The case of Courtney Cash
Courtney Cash was found dead in the Tennessee home she shared with her boyfriend, William Austin Johnson, and daughter, who was just one at the time of her mother’s death on March 19, 2014. Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews said at that time, the body was found in a chest just inside the front door, reports CBS News.
Who is the suspect?
The suspect was identified as 27-year-old Wayne Gary Masciarella, who got charged with first-degree murder. As per CNN, on March 18, 2014, Masciarella apparently went out with Courtney and her boyfriend, Johnson. However, when they all three returned to the apartment in the early hours of March 19, an altercation took place. Following this, Courtney and Johnson were both stabbed. Courtney died but Johnson escaped the attack and remained hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
On the other hand, Masciarella took the child with him before driving to the hospital and gave a statement to investigators there. Based on it, he was arrested. Describing the details, Andrews said, "This is a senseless, tragic death of a young lady whose life was probably taken as a direct or indirect result of drugs. The first thing that comes to my mind is a friendship gone bad. That's exactly what it looks like - that friends were either hanging out together, had been somewhere, and came here. Some altercation broke out and we have one woman deceased."
'They refused to pursue the perjury charges'
However, Courtney's family believes the suspect who was convicted of her murder did not act alone. Cindy previously told WKRN in August 2022, “They refused to pursue the perjury charges because it was multiple lies that was spoken in court. The killer or other party had claimed to be true, but he lied multiple multiple times.”
Talking on the case, District Attorney General Bryant C of the 13th Judicial District said, "One of the most difficult conversations that I have are with families who have lost a loved one to violent crime or other terrible circumstance. I have great compassion for those families. Grief over a lost loved one can be overwhelming. This office prosecutes all violent crime when evidence supports the prosecution and we always will. I recognize that the criminal justice system is not perfect and that it is hard to understand. The Cash family continues to voice concern through their grief. The murderer of Courtney Cash has been convicted of taking her life and is in prison today. I pray for the peace and comfort of the Cash family and all families who have lost a loved one.”