Johnny Cash's grandneice stabbed to death, found stuffed in a cedar chest.

[LSN80]

It's a short piece here, but I encourage you to watch the accompanying video as well, as it touches on what I really want to talk about here.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/20/justice/johnny-cash-grandniece-dead/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

The short of the story is this: Courtney Cash, a beautiful young woman who lived with her boyfriend, William Austin Johnson and their small daughter, went out for the night with Johnson and a friend, Wayne Gary Masciarella. Other news sites are reporting that Mascierella had been invited into Cash and Johnson's home, rather then the trio going out. Regardless of the sequence of events, while inside the home, Cash and Johnson apparently got into a heated argument with Masciarella, who drew a knife. He first stabbed Cash, whose injuries were fatal, then stabbed Johnson as well.

The incident was apparently drug related, although that's the crux of the reports. Further, toxicology on Cash wouldn't come back for weeks, even months, though it would make sense that Mascierella would be in a drug-induced state to have the audacity to kill a young woman and attempt to kill her fiancee, knowing they had a small child.

The sheriff in charge of the investigation, David Andrews, had the following to say:

"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."

Johnson, who I imagine was in a fight or flight response, grabbed their young daughter and fled to the local hospital, where he's still hospitalized for severe injuries as a result of the stabbing. Masciarella was arrested for Cash's murder, and has been charged with first-degree murder. One can only imagine the issues such a man would have, that he would stuff a woman into a cedar chest. Andrews had the following to say about Masciarella, and the hiding of the body.

"My personal theory is that he was going to hide it for as long as he could,"

To me, the hiding of the body, drug-addled or not, showed that Mascierella had enough capacity to think and understand that he was in deep crap, and understanding this, disposed of the woman into a chest like she was an item to be stored away.

The crux of the issues I want to discuss are two-fold here. It's a damn shame regarding Cash, a beautiful woman with, by accounts, had a loving fiancee and a beautiful two-year old daughter. I'm sure more details will emerge as to what exactly the issues were that lead to the slaying of Cash and the attempted murder of her fiancee Johnson, including where Cash was stabbed. Because, I believe, that likely played a large role in Johnson's response.

The video and the article notes that Johnson-who was stabbed second- grabbed the couple's daughter and fled to the nearest emergency room. Again, we don't know where Cash was stabbed, so all of this is perfunctory on my part. However, if it was your fiancee, wife, or girlfriend, would you flee, knowing she had been stabbed as well? Or would you stay, attempt to fight off your attacker in what I imagine was a weakened state, and try to save your fiancee as well?

Sheriff Andrews had the following to say about Johnson:

"That's a pretty strong man. He grabbed the baby and exited the house and got in the car and drove himself to the hospital,"

To me, that says that he knew that Courtney Cash was already dead, although no reports have been released to show how she died, or where she was stabbed.

It's a question I batted around with my wife this morning, and her response is the one I believe makes the most sense. In a weakened state, the chances one has against a man with a knife aren't very good. Further, in grabbing his daughter and fleeing, Johnson ensured that his daughter didn't grow up parentless. It's a sad state of affairs all around, but the fact that Johnson remains hospitalized for his (multiple) wounds show that they weren't minor, and despite the physical and obvious emotional turmoil Johnson was in, I believe he did the right thing. But your turn:

Did William Austin Johnson(Courtney Cash' fiancee) do the right thing by fleeing with their daughter? Or should he have stayed and attempted to save his fiancee as well, no matter how serious her injuries appeared?

The video that comes along with the story provides the basis for the second question that I have. In the video, the next door neighbor of Johnson and Cash had the following to say:

The area is relatively quiet , and most people keep to themselves. I didn't know what to think.Like I said, we're all in shock. It's devastating for something like this to happen, and we're all in shock. Especially when it's someone who lives next door.

It's been some time since Putnam County has updated their crime rate and # of murders per year, but in checking, I found that there was one murder in the county in 2004, and three in 2005. I can't imagine that there was a large rise in those statistics since, which makes it a very safe place to live, one would think. Rapes in Putnam county were also less than ten a year.

I had, for something independent I was doing, checked the # of murders total in my city since 2000. While my identifying information on my profile says I live in Pittsburgh, I actually live in a city about 30 minutes away. It's not a small city, but, as I thought, the violent crime rate in the city is extremely low. Since 2000, there have been only nine murders, 38 rapes, and 194 assaults. While that's 241 violent crimes too many, statistics such as this make for approximately a month's worth of violence in Pittsburgh. As a result, I feel quite safe having settled here.

I'm curious as to the rest of you, however. In my town, a murder is a shocking event. The last one was in January, the aforementioned ninth murder since 2000. A call was received about a man and a woman fighting in an apartment complex approximately 15 minutes from my home, and when state police arrived, a man had a knife to a woman's throat. When the police ordered the man to drop the knife, he slit the woman's throat instead, and was subsequently shot to death himself by police.

Such an incident, while shocking in my town, made me realize and understand that violence can happen anywhere. Still, I feel confident and safe knowing that such incidents are few and far between, and that this was the first murder since 2010. It's one too many, but I find myself in a fortunate situation. Violence where I live is an aberration, not the norm. However, I'm wondering the same thing about the rest of you:

Do you feel safe in the town in which you live? Is it one where violent crime such as murder and rape are relatively low, or are these every-day occurrences?

Your thoughts and discussion on all of this is welcome and encouraged. I know I threw quite a bit out there, so discuss whatever parts you so desire.

 

[The Butcher]

Did William Austin Johnson(Courtney Cash' fiancee) do the right thing by fleeing with their daughter? Or should he have stayed and attempted to save his fiancee as well, no matter how serious her injuries appeared?

In my experience people tend to revert to instinct and training in life-threatening situations, and the fight or flight switch everyone has in their brain goes in one direction or the other pretty much on its own. He was probably in that survival mode and, him being a father, I'd imagine that the welfare of his kid is even more paramount than usual when in that mindset. In short, he did what he had to do.

Besides, it doesn't seem as if Johnson had time or strength enough to subdue his assailant and to do triage/first aid on himself and Cash. Without all of the details it's impossible to say, but given the facts as presented, I'd say he made the best decision he could under the circumstances.

Do you feel safe in the town in which you live? Is it one where violent crime such as murder and rape are relatively low, or are these every-day occurrences?

I feel safe, but then again who's gonna mess with me? Kidding aside, while this area has a lot of robberies (cars being stolen out of driveways, business being broken into after hours), violent crime is pretty rare. I don't really worry about that stuff, though. I take the precautions I can, but if someone is intent on killing me or taking what's mine then that's out of my hands. The way this city is, I think it's more likely I get run off the road by some jackass going 90 in his lifted pickup truck with a Confederate flag sticker on the back window and a "SECEDE" or "NOBAMA" bumper sticker.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Did William Austin Johnson(Courtney Cash' fiancee) do the right thing by fleeing with their daughter? Or should he have stayed and attempted to save his fiancee as well, no matter how serious her injuries appeared?

It's nearly impossible to tell how you're going to react when life-or-death pressure is suddenly forced upon you. Police, juries and insurance companies who sit back after an incident has occurred and take potshots regarding "What you should have done" often show their lack of empathy by being blithely ignorant of the situation being faced by the person they're judging. They aren't able to put themselves in the place of the person whose case they're looking at......and would probably be shocked to find that if placed in the same situation, they might not only have not saved their spouse, but might not save their child either.....but rather, would turn and hightail it out of there to save their own butts.

Who knows how a person will react to extreme danger? Sure, we're all the heroes of our own stories when we imagine and relate them.....but what would you do if it really happened? Obviously, the only way to know is to have it occur, which no one wants.

I think there's an excellent chance the fiancee is a true hero for having saved someone besides just himself. We don't know if the Cash girl could have been saved too, or if in Johnson trying to save both, they might have all died. For all we know, she might have yelled for him to take the child and run.

Hopefully, Johnson won't have to face the "Why didn't you....." questions that it's so easy for outsiders to ask. If investigators choose to regard him as a "coward," hopefully it will eventually be realized that he's a "coward" with a child who lived because of his actions.

 

[Starkist]

Cannot really go in to deep with this one. We can type words of what's right and what's wrong for any given situation. I am sure no matter what, we all at least have some morals. The common sense factor would be to stay, it'd be morally correct to do. Instinctively, we as humans flee when there is danger around us. We're known to panic and run for the hills and then get help.

I cannot speak on what he should've been done, I can only think that it might possibly have been the correct thing to do in that time frame. If I had a child I'd rather me suffer and have my significant other take my child to safety. Animal instinct is to protect our kin no matter what. That is what makes this a difficult "what if" situation.

What if he stayed, do all three or all four die, or do you do what our human reaction would be? I can only imagine the horror, the terror, the shock, fear, anixety, and how afraid one could be in this awful situation. If it does lead to did he do what is "morally right", quite possibly. It will be a 50/50 debate that is for sure.

It is just tragic to hear/read that it might be about drugs. It is a brutal way to die and may the she rest in peace. Just another not needed tragedy in this already fucked up world.