COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The great-niece of the late singer Johnny Cash has been found stabbed to death and stuffed in a box in a house, authorities in Tennessee said Thursday. 
 
 Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews said Courtney Cash's body was found Wednesday morning in a home near Cookeville, about 70 miles east of Nashville. 
 
 Cash's body was found in a chest just inside the front door, Andrews said. A man identified as William Austin Johnson, Cash's boyfriend, was being treated for stab wounds at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Andrews said. 
 
 Andrews said the pair had gone out with a friend before an altercation took place in the house where Johnson and Cash lived with their young child. The friend, identified as Wayne Gary Masciarella, has been charged with first-degree murder. 
 
 Johnson escaped the attack and took the child with him before driving to the hospital, Andrews said. The scene inside the house was "somewhat bloody," Andrews told reporters at a news conference. 
 
 "There was a struggle," the sheriff said. 
 
 The suspect may have been trying to hide Cash's body, Andrews said. A motive was not released, but Andrews indicated the stabbings were likely connected to drugs. 
 
 "This is a senseless, tragic death of a young lady whose life was probably taken as a direct or indirect result of drugs," Andrews said. 
 
 Johnny Cash's brother, Tommy Cash, released a statement asking for prayers for the family after the loss of his granddaughter. 
 
 "We are completely heartbroken," the statement said. 
 
 Masciarella is being held without bond. He has a court date scheduled for April 21. Officials in Putnam County said they do not know if he has a lawyer. ||||| The victim found murdered in a Putnam County home has been identified as the great-niece of legendary performer Johnny Cash. 
 
 Courtney Cash was found stabbed to death and stuffed inside a large wooden box in her home on Rice Road on Wednesday morning. Courtney Cash is the granddaughter of Tommy Cash, Johnny Cash's brother. 
 
 The man who lived with her, identified as William Austin Johnson, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with multiple stab wounds. He remains in stable condition. 
 
 Johnson is the father of Courtney Cash's young daughter, said Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews, and was able to take the 20-month-old girl from the home and drive himself to a hospital in White County. Information Johnson provided at the hospital led authorities to a suspect in the case. 
 
 "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," Andrews said. 
 
 Tommy Cash issued a statement Thursday afternoon: 
 
 "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." 
 
 Wayne Gary Masciarella, 27, was taken into custody in Cookeville and charged with first-degree murder. 
 
 Detectives say they think the two victims invited Masciarella, a friend of theirs, over to the home late Tuesday night, where an altercation ensued and the stabbing took place. 
 
 The sheriff said a 911 call was placed about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday to dispatchers in White County. The ping location from the cell phone used in the 911 call took authorities about 1/4 mile down the road to the wrong address. 
 
 Deputies began to leave the area when a second 911 call was placed about 20 minutes after the first call. That second call led the officers to the home on Rice Road, where they found Courtney Cash's body just inside the front door. 
 
 "My personal theory is that he was going to hide it for as long as he could," Andrews said. 
 
 Sheriff Andrews said he can't comment on the murder weapon or a possible motive in the case, but he said it could be drug-related. 
 
 "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," Andrews said. 
 
 Masciarella is being held without bond, and he is due to appear in court on April 21. 
 
 Copyright 2014 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved. 
 

– Police this week found the body of Johnny Cash's great-niece stabbed to death and stuffed in a cedar box in the Tennessee home where she lived with her boyfriend and their young daughter, the AP reports. Courtney Cash, 23, and boyfriend William Austin Johnson met up with a friend, Wayne Gary Masciarella, Tuesday night; an altercation reportedly took place in the house. Johnson fled with the 20-month-old baby girl, WSMV reports, and was hospitalized with stab wounds; police found Cash's body Wednesday morning. The scene was "somewhat bloody," the sheriff says. "There was a struggle." Cash's body was inside a chest just inside the front door, and the sheriff says the suspect may have been attempting to hide her body. Masciarella, 27, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder; no motive has been released, but the sheriff says the stabbings were likely "a direct or indirect result of drugs." Courtney Cash was the granddaughter of Johnny Cash's brother Tommy. Her baby was unhurt, the Tennessean reports.