Man pleads not guilty in Johnny Cash relative’s killing

The man accused of stabbing Courtney Cash to death last week pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Cash, 23, was found dead on March 19 inside a wooden chest in her Baxter, Tenn., home. She was country legend Johnny Cash’s great niece.

Investigators believe Wayne Masciarella is responsible for Courtney Cash’s slaying. He was arrested soon after her body was found.

Masciarella, 27, entered his not guilty plea during a brief court appearance in Putnam County, according to his court-appointed attorney Doug Dennis.

Dennis said that he plans to be in court next week to file a motion that would keep news cameras out of the courtroom.

“The cameras make it a ‘Law & Order’ episode,” Dennis said during an interview Wednesday. “Talk about tainting a jury pool.”

Masciarella is also suspected of stabbing Cash’s boyfriend, William Austin Johnson. Investigators believe Masciarella had gotten into a fight with Johnson and Cash at their home before stabbing them.

He is being held without bond in the Putnam County Jail.

Putnam County Sheriff David Andrews said last week that the crime could be tied to methamphetamine, but he shared no additional details.

Courtney Cash’s funeral took place Wednesday morning in Cookeville. Her obituary called her “a loving mother, daughter, granddaughter, and friend.”

The family asked that donations be made to Courtney Cash’s young daughter through Cameryn Cash’s Educational Fund at Bank of America, account No. 444016583559.