In the late afternoon of September 28, 2022, a sense of unease settled over a quiet street in Ludowici, Georgia. Neighbors noticed that the children of Sashya Cato and her husband, Fort Stewart Staff Sgt. Deveraux Cato, were unable to get into their own home after school. This was unusual, as Sashya, a caring mother, always made arrangements for her children if she wasn't going to be there. With both of the couple's cars parked in the driveway, a concerned neighbor's calls to Sashya went unanswered, prompting a call to the Long County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrived at the home on Brookhaven Loop and, after about 30 minutes of knocking with no response, they made entry through a window. Inside, they discovered a tragic scene. The bodies of Sashya Cato and her 34-year-old husband, Deveraux Cato, were found within the residence.
Investigators also noted the smell of gasoline and found evidence of a small fire and an accelerant at the scene.
The investigation into the deaths of the couple quickly pointed towards a murder-suicide. Detectives with the Long County Sheriff's Office suspect that Deveraux Cato killed his wife before taking his own life. Deveraux Cato was a multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer assigned to the 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion at Fort Stewart and had received multiple army medals.
Sashya, a native of Jamaica, was a mother of two and held a law degree. The authorities have not released an official cause of death pending the results of an autopsy from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab. The investigation concluded that there was no ongoing danger to the public.
