GUILTY TN - Courtney Cash, 23, murdered at her Baxter home, 19 March 2014

It had been in the rumor mill, those places we can't link to, that Wayne Masciarella thought Johnson and Cash were trying to poison him with antifreeze.. I bring this up, because Austin Johnson testified to this on the stand yesterday. I never said anything because it was hearsay.

He also testified that Wayne Masciarella injected them with something. Austin sure seemed to be genuine in his telling of what happened. There are a couple of other things said like Wayne Masciarella held them for days...

However his sister say's something totally different.. I don't think that I can post that here, because it was in a comment on her fb page and not in the MSM. Tho she does say it will come out in court..due to video.

I will say this, I don't think Austin is being totally truthful in my opinion on some of his testimony. I am in no way blaming the victims, I stand on the side of truth and I don't think he is telling the whole truth.

NewsChannel 5 ‏@NC5 6m
Happening Now: The accused killer of Johnny Cash's great-niece is in court today in Putnam County.We will have details as they come in.#NC5

NewsChannel 5 ‏@NC5 13m
The hearing for Wayne Masciarella, the man accused of killing Johnny Cash's great-neice Courtney Cash has been continued until November.

thanks so much for the update lyric.........i followed this case at the time it happened and was glad to see the thread bumped.......... :tyou:

terrible it was continued...........very interesting case, so sad

Lyric, do you know if Austin has been able to see his child?

Yes, from his FB page comments and pictures he is seeing her, does he have her full time? That I do not know, as some of his postings are just for friends, but some postings are public.

After reviewing the information, the grand jury charged Masciarella with premeditated first degree murder, felony murder, attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.


http://www.herald-citizen.com/newsx/item/1647-masciarella-faces-six-charges-related-to-cash-murder


His attorney still hasn't seen the first of police reports:

Doug Dennis, who is representing Masciarella, told the Herald-Citizen yesterday that he didn’t yet know what the charges are against his client.

Dennis said he has no idea when the case will go to trial and he hasn’t even seen a police report yet. “...I haven’t seen any information they have. I haven’t seen any evidence. I haven’t seen anything,” Dennis said.

The Herald-Citizen attempted to obtain the incident report from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and were unable to get a copy of it.

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Those for Justice and those protesting were outside as Wayne Masciarella enters yet another Not Guilty Plea in Criminal Court...his first Not Guilty was in General Sessions.

There were some people in the courtroom wearing shirts with Cash’s picture on them. There were a few protesters outside the Putnam County Justice Center as well.

Despite the additional charges, they are not yet satisfied and they feel like the wrong man has been charged.

“Not all the facts have been brought out,” said Michael Hamilton, who said he’s known Cash since she was about seven years old and has known Masciarella for several years. Hamilton said Masciarella’s record precedes him.

When asked who else they believe was involved, Hamilton wouldn’t say.

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http://www.herald-citizen.com/newsx/item/1674-masciarella-pleads-not-guilty-in-cash-murder

~Lyric~ said:

Yes, from his FB page comments and pictures he is seeing her, does he have her full time? That I do not know, as some of his postings are just for friends, but some postings are public.

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Lyric, thank you. I'm glad they have each other. I was just worried because I remember how they didn't allow Austin to attend the burial, just the funeral service. I guess I was worried they would try to keep him from his daughter.

Lovejac said:

Lyric, thank you. I'm glad they have each other. I was just worried because I remember how they didn't allow Austin to attend the burial, just the funeral service. I guess I was worried they would try to keep him from his daughter.

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i found that so peculiar regarding his attendance at the service........very sad

Due to the recent election of judges, our former deputy DA was voted in as judge.

Written by Laura Militana, reporter Herald Citizen.

since Gary McKenzie was sworn in as criminal court judge, and with that in mind, he has knowledge of many cases currently working their way through the court system

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“I was with the DA’s office when the case came up, so I have a different side of the facts of the case,” he said. “Any case I have knowledge of, such as this one, I recuse myself.”

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The new judge will be the Honorable David Patterson.

Wayne Masciarella is schedule to appear in court Dec. 12th.

http://www.herald-citizen.com/newsx/item/4652-mckenzie-recuses-self-from-cash-murder-case

September 2016:

Man pleads guilty to killing Johnny Cash’s great niece

http://wkrn.com/2016/09/13/man-pleads-guilty-to-killing-johnny-cashs-great-niece/

The man accused of killing Johnny Cash’s great niece in 2014 will serve 15 years in prison after taking a plea deal.

Wayne Masciarella pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday to avoid going to trial later this month.

Cash’s mother told News 2 after Masciarella pleaded guilty to her daughter’s murder, “We feel that justice has been only half served. Without a trial, it’s difficult to find closure for my daughter’s death.”

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A Girl Named Courtney

Country music legend Johnny Cash had a well -known song called “A Boy Named Sue”. This is a story about his
great niece, a girl named Courtney. In March of 2014, an election year in Putnam County, Tennessee (a small town just
about an hour outside Nashville, the home of Country music), Courtney Jean Cash was found dead in a wooden box
inside her apartment. Candidates for District Attorney (Bryant Dunaway) and Sherriff (Eddie Farris), both of whom were
subsequently elected, met with Courtney’s grieving family and promised them Justice. Fast-forward two and a half years.
A man sits in jail for Courtney’s murder. You’re probably thinking “good job, Mr. Sherriff and Mr. DA”, correct? Think
again! The man in jail for Courtney’s murder is her longtime friend Wayne Masciarella. While he is the only person to be
charged in Courtney’s murder, he was not the only person present at the time of her death. The story that follows is one
of jealousy, murderous rage, and drug fueled violence that has left a young child without her mother, and a family grieving
the loss of their Girl Named Courtney.
The story we are told is from the point of view of the other adult present when Courtney died, her live in boyfriend
and father of her child, William “Austin” Johnson, who was wildly jealous of Courtney’s friendship with Masciarella (his
friend too). Mr. Johnson contends that Mr. Masciarella held both him and Courtney and their minor child (who was a
toddler at the time) hostage for approximately thirty hours. He claims that Masciarella shot both him and Courtney up with
methamphetamine against their will and that he attacked both of them with a knife from the kitchen drawers. Any nurse
could tell you how difficult it would be to find a vein on a non-consenting adult when attempting to put a needle in for
intravenous injections. Also fellow friends of Masciarella’s have stated on record to Courtney’s family that it was a well
known fact that he could not even properly use a needle when he tried to shoot up himself, much less shoot up two other
adults against their will. This portion of the story alone reeks of untruths. During this thirty hour period Mr. Johnson
admits in statements to the DA that he was alone in a bedroom with his child while his “captor” was in the kitchen that he
was somehow unable to leave through the window to get help for Courtney as she lay dying. Eventually he did just that -
jump out a window with the baby and drive to his family’s home for help. This was long after Courtney was already dead.
Mr. Johnson had stab wounds that he alleged were also from Masciarella. A more likely story is that Mr. Johnson stabbed
Courtney and Masciarella was attempting to defend her. Courtney had long told family and friends of the abusive nature
of her relationship with Johnson, and her mother has a saved text where Courtney talked of Austin or her ending up “six
feet under” due to the volatile nature of their relationship.
Understandably, a sober mind cannot fathom the workings of a mind fueled by methamphetamine. So here we
will interject the tale of mishandling of evidence. When police let Courtney’s family in to the apartment after her body was
removed a working cell phone was found in a drawer in the very bedroom that Johnson claims to have been held captive
in. A cell phone that he could’ve used at any time in those thirty hours to call 911 and help save the life of the mother of
his child. Also found in the child’s diaper box was a knife that Mr. Johnson admitted was his. A knife, the same type of
weapon used to kill Miss Cash, and this wasn’t found by the police initially? When it was found it was subsequently “lost”
in evidence for several months. Mr. Johnson continuously lied to the DA in interviews about his prior meth use and
changed his story so many times that the Criminal Court Judge presiding over the murder trial had to remove the two
Assistant DAs (Brett Gunn and Beth Willis) who’d been on this case because the defense attorney was going to have to
call them as a witness to Johnson’s untruthful statements. Mr. Johnson lied both in his interviews and in open court, and
was never even charged with perjury. Mr. Johnson was treated with kidd gloves by the office of the DA, and yet Miss
Cash’s family was treated with refusal of phone calls, DA Beth Willis rolling her eyes at Courtney’s grieving mother, and
an utter lack of communication and respect. The DAs office has staff specifically for “Victim/Witness coordination” and yet
none of them ever reached out to assist the Cash family in understanding the investigation and pending trial.
Due to Mr. Johnson’s changing stories and the fact that he was their only witness, the DA’s office agreed to a plea
bargain for Mr. Masciarella. In September of 2016 he pled guilty to second degree murder in exchange for a fifteen year
sentence. So while Mr. Masciarella is indeed in jail, and it appears the DA has marked a check in their “conviction”
column, this is not justice. Too many inconsistencies in Mr. Johnson’s story exist and Courtney’s family wholeheartedly
believes that he should be held responsible for her death. Courtney’s family is raising her daughter, the spitting image of
her mother, and trying to live with their grief coupled with the fact that they feel justice has not been served in this case.
Since the sheriff and DA of Putnam County have dropped the ball on Justice for Courtney, her family pleads that you will
pick it up and investigate this case. Please help us shed some light on the short life and tragic death of A Girl Named
Courtney.

Assistant district attorney resigns

Assistant district attorney resigns
Posted Thursday, February 6, 2020

BY PAIGE STANAGE
An assistant District Attorney who was accused of withholding a witness in last week's rape trial in Putnam County has resigned.

Bret Gunn, an Assistant District Attorney in the 13th Judicial District, submitted his resignation to the office Thursday.

Gunn's resignation, effective immediately, comes after Judge Gary McKenzie handed down a Brady violation ruling in the Kevin Blake Hughes rape trial last week.

Gunn was the lead prosecutor in that case.

The Brady rule requires prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence, or evidence favorable to the defendant, in their possession to the defense.

Gunn reportedly had a crucial witness for his case and did not provide contact information for the witness, or what would be included in his testimony, to Hughes' defense attorneys, Randy York, Shawn Fry and Brett Knight.

"It was improper for them to withhold the truth," Fry said. "It's unheard of to hide a material witness."

The 13th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway issued a statement following Gunn's resignation.

"Thursday, I accepted the resignation of Assistant District Attorney Bret Gunn," Dunaway said. "Mr. Gunn was accused of impropriety in a rape trial held last week. He and I firmly maintain that he did nothing unethical or outside the bounds of what the law permits.

"However, Mr. Gunn recognizes that the court’s position would make it difficult for him to continue to practice in the Criminal Court here, thus he has decided to continue his work as a prosecutor elsewhere."

Gunn was also the prosecutor in a 2016 misdemeanor theft and assault case that resulted in a hung jury.

Prosecutors, namely Gunn, then filed a superseding indictment that added a felony burglary count to that defendant's original charges, according to a previous story in the Herald-Citizen.

Presiding Judge David Patterson dismissed the felony charge because of a "lack of due diligence."

The state then appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals in Nashville.

Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille R. McMullen heard the appeal and dismissed the felony charge.

"Because (the defendant's) first trial progressed to the jury deliberation stage before ending in a hung jury and mistrial, it is appropriate to view the prosecutor’s change in the charging decision as occurring during the post-trial stage," McMullen's ruling states. "For all of these reasons, we agree with the trial court that the circumstances in Jensen’s case 'reveal the existence of a realistic likelihood of prosecutorial retaliation,' which gives rise to a presumption of prosecutorial vindictiveness."

In addition, in 2016, Gunn was removed from prosecuting the murder case against Wayne Gary Masciarella, who was accused of killing Courtney Cash, the grand niece of country music legend Johnny Cash. The removal happened after Gunn and another assistant DA became witnesses in the case after defense attorney Doug Dennis alleged that the prosecutors interviewed a key witness in the case but didn't record it.

Despite the controversies, Dunaway said that he believes Gunn is a man of integrity and good character.

"He is a highly skilled prosecutor with a thorough knowledge of criminal law. I wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Dunaway said.