Introducing: The Generation Why Podcast

For true fans of true crime, the Generation Why podcast is essential listening. Hosts Aaron and Justin started this podcast in twenty twelve to dissect some of the craziest and most notable murders, crimes, and conspiracy theories together, and ten years later, they're still added unraveling a new case each week.

Wondering Well. Tonight, we're talking about a mysterious death that happened April fourteenth, twenty twenty two, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the mysterious death was of a young man named Johnny Cashman. I say young man because he's younger than me. He was thirty eight.

This was in Lynchburg, Virginia. I've never been there, but looking at photos and talking to people, it looks Virginia looks beautiful and that town is you know, it's population of around eighty thousand, so I think it's a quaint town where you can still have a small town feel and know people around you. People help each other out. But by any town there is crime and other elements that happen.

So really this case starts off justin because Johnny's mother, Kim, she hadn't heard from him since that day, so she spoke to him on April fourteenth, which is in twenty twenty two, but then she hadn't heard from him for a few days, and that worried her because she was used to getting a text from him or a call every day, if not more than one. Now, with his having depression, that's always a fear right that maybe he's not wanting to talk to anyone, or we could imagine something worse happening.

Yeah, and his parents and sister, they all live in Maine, which is hundreds of miles away, so they can't just jump in their car and go visit him. It's a long distance, so they their only communication is via phone or text. When they don't hear from him, it's a little bothersome.

It's five days later on April nineteenth, when Kim called the Lynchburg Police Department and she said, you know, I talked to my son five days ago, but I haven't heard from him. Since that is out of the ordinary. Is there any way you could check on him? And, as we all know, that means if the police agree to it, that means they'll conduct a welfare check. And at five forty five am, officers go to his apartment and they knock, but no one answers the door.

Now, Aaron, at five forty five or any time before six am, I don't know if anyone's answering the door. I think a lot of us are going to be asleep, so that makes sense.

Right, Yeah, But credit to them. They do conduct this welfare check, and then they come back several more times, knocking and trying to get contact made with Johnny Cashman. Now at eight am, they get a key to the apartment. There is some concern here that because he's not answering, that maybe something has happened where he can't answer. Right, we don't know if he's unconscious, or if he's not willing to answer the door, or if there has been

Well, according to the police, they find Johnny lying on his back on the floor. He's obviously dead. They see blood, puddles of blood, but they determine that there isn't any foul play.

The officers do speak with Johnny's family and they say it looked like this was an apparent medical condition that preceded his death. In other words, they don't think anyone attacked him or murdered him.

His families obviously concerned. His father is asking was there any signs of violence? Was it a suicide or anything like that?

And this is John Cashman, Yeah.

And law enforcements saying no, it looks very natural. And they go on to ask if they think he suffered, and the police will say no, it looks like this was pretty instantaneous, which I don't know how they would know that, but they're saying that he probably didn't suffer and this was all natural. So Johnny's body is obviously removed from the home and the family's asking about an autopsy, if an autopsy's going to be done, and what do the police and law enforcements say.

To that, Well, their response is no, the case is closed, meaning they don't think one is necessary.

And that is a thing erin I had to go look that up because I just assumed that autopsies were always done, but it's not generally necessary, as the Internet says, if the cause of death is known, meaning if somebody's old and has a heart attack, or somebody you know obviously has cancer or something to that effect, they say, well, there's no need for an autopsy. We can just take the body and go ahead and cremate or whatever you want to do. And the family takes law enforcements word

So they make arrangements with a funeral home which is located in Lynchburg, to have Johnny Cashman Junior cremated so that they can bring his remains back to Maine his ashes.

They're having to do this all from Afar because they live in Maine, so they're just making phone calls and arranging this to be done. At no point has anyone stepped foot into Johnny Cashman Junior's apartment.

Not until April twenty ninth. That's when Johnny's ex girlfriend and her mother go to the apartment to get a few things. Now we don't know her name. She has requested to remain anonymous, but she has spoken to the media and this is what she said. Well, we open the door and the first thing you see is an abundant amount of blood in the bathroom, which is not at all what they were expecting to see, of course, right they say that the whole floor is just covered

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