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. ||||| Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies work the scene where four young children were fatally stabbed at the Greens of Irene apartment, Friday, July 1, 2016 in Memphis, Tenn. Four young children were stabbed... (Associated Press) 
 
 Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies work the scene where four young children were fatally stabbed at the Greens of Irene apartment, Friday, July 1, 2016 in Memphis, Tenn. Four young children were stabbed to death in a gated apartment complex in suburban Memphis on Friday, and police took their mother... (Associated Press) 
 
 Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies work the scene where four young children were fatally stabbed at the Greens of Irene apartment, Friday, July 1, 2016 in Memphis, Tenn. Four young children were stabbed to death in a gated apartment complex in suburban Memphis on Friday, and police took their mother... (Associated Press) Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies work the scene where four young children were fatally stabbed at the Greens of Irene apartment, Friday, July 1, 2016 in Memphis, Tenn. Four young children were stabbed... (Associated Press) 
 
 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The mother of four young children who were stabbed to death in a gated apartment complex in Tennessee is being held for questioning, but authorities have not charged her with a crime. 
 
 The deaths on Friday saddened and dismayed neighbors and county officials, as authorities tried to piece together what happened in the apartment located near a verdant golf course in a typically quiet neighborhood in suburban Memphis. 
 
 Deputies were called to the complex in unincorporated Shelby County shortly before 1 p.m. Friday. They took the mother into custody after finding the children's bodies. 
 
 Officials have not released the ages of the children, but sheriff's office spokesman Earle Farrell said deputies responding to the scene called them "babies." Authorities were waiting to contact next of kin to release the names. 
 
 Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham did not specifically allege that the mother had stabbed the children. He said investigators did not know if she had mental health issues. 
 
 "This is an egregious act of evil that has shocked us to our core," Oldham said. "I will never understand how anyone can do this." 
 
 Oldham said the district attorney general's special victims' unit has been called in and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has promised all resources necessary for the investigation. 
 
 "One of the most difficult questions in any investigation is always, 'Why did this happen?'" the sheriff said. 
 
 County Commissioner Mark Billingsley also said the county would work to help the family of the children recover. 
 
 "It's just a very sad day," he said. "It's really beyond words, quite frankly." 
 
 Neighbor Sean Ahearn said he didn't know the family by name, but that he often saw the children, who all appeared to be under age 6, playing in the front yard. They liked to pet his dog when he was taking it for a walk, he said. 
 
 "From what I saw, they were very open and friendly kids," he said. "You never imagine that this kind of thing could happen." 
 
 The apartment where the stabbing occurred is in a gated community with a golf course called The Greens at Irene. On Friday afternoon, deputies were standing at the gate house questioning motorists as they drove into the neighborhood. 
 
 Resident Patricia Johnson spoke with reporters from her car. She said she wasn't allowed to leave for two hours as deputies investigated the scene. 
 
 She has a child, and said she burst into tears when she heard about the killings. 
 
 "I can't fathom that," she said. "What would babies do to make you do that?" 
 
 Johnson said she would be praying for the family, including the mother. 
 
 "Something went wrong, drastically wrong," Johnson said 
 
 The state Department of Children's Service has offered its assistance to local law enforcement, but has no record of interaction with the slain children, said spokesman Rob Johnson. 
 
 "We've done an exhaustive search and we are not aware of any contact with this family," he said. 
 
 The news triggered painful memories for Johnson and others in Memphis: In 2008, a man's bloody rampage in the city left six dead, including two children, ages 2 and 4. 
 
 Jessie Dotson was convicted of shooting his brother during an argument at a house on Lester Street, then attacking everyone else in the house with a gun, boards and knives in an attempt to eliminate witnesses. 
 
 Three other children were stabbed but survived, including a 2-month-old girl and 9-year-old boy, who was found in a bathtub with a 4 ½-inch knife blade embedded in his skull. The survivors are known as the "miracles of Lester Street." 
 
 Dotson was convicted and sentenced to death in 2010. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Erik Schelzig and Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
– 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.