NCIS Report Details Investigation Of Late WWE Star Ashley Massaro's Sexual Assault Claims
The lawsuit filed by Janel Grant against WWE and Vince McMahon detailing allegations of sexual assault and trafficking brought attention back to another harrowing tale from within the company previously; the alleged sexual assault of late former WWE star Ashley Massaro while on tour with the promotion in Kuwait. Massaro alleged she had been drugged and assaulted while receiving medical treatment from a U.S. military doctor, while a female stood guard. WWE had for years denied knowledge of Massaro's allegations prior to her death in 2019, but recent reporting has indicated otherwise. It was also reported that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) had opened an investigation into the allegations in 2019. However, no details were disclosed at the time.
Wrestling Inc.'s Max Everett obtained a partially redacted investigation report from NCIS, which details the agency assuming investigative authority from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) and US Army Criminal Investigation Division on June 28th 2019. AFOSI's previous investigation had revealed that Massaro was in fact treated at the Camp Life Support Area described in Massaro's signed affidavit from 2017. She was treated by a former US Navy Lieutenant Physician Assistant, but the name is redacted in the report. Several other undisclosed individuals were interviewed during the NCIS investigation, including a Lieutenant Physician Assistant and a WWE legal representative from K&L Gates LLP.
Many of those who were questioned described being stationed in Kuwait during the time period Massaro's allegations stem from, however, they were further unable to recall either Massaro's presence or any specifics pertaining to the facility in which the alleged assault took place. NCIS consulted with medical professionals but was unable to find evidence of the alleged assault based on Massaro's records — which are also redacted in the report. After "exhausting all logical investigative leads," being unable to establish a crime scene 13 years after it was alleged to have taken place, and a key witness in Massaro being unable to give further testimony, NCIS ruled the case closed on January 27, 2020.