Sarah Stern’s childhood friend, Liam McAtasney, confessed to her murder in a secretly recorded video. He confessed to strangling her for 30 minutes and robbing her of a few thousand dollars. Following that, he enlisted his former roommate, Preston Taylor, to throw Sarah’s body off a bridge between Neptune and Belmar, New Jersey, in December 2016. Stern’s body was never found.
Trigger warning: This article contains details of strangulation and death. Discretion is advised.
McAtasney and Taylor were both arrested and charged with several counts of murder, robbery, and desecration of human remains, among other charges. The latter accepted a plea deal and agreed to testify against the killer. In exchange, he was given an 18-year prison sentence. In 2019, McAtasney was found guilty of seven counts, including murder, and sentenced to life without parole in prison.
A father’s relief as jury convicts Liam McAtasney on all 7 counts for the robbery/murder of daughter Sarah Stern in the 8th week of trial @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/sYeIATBn2W
Sarah Stern is the subject of an upcoming Dateline: Unforgettable episode titled The Betrayal of Sarah Stern. The episode will air on Oxygen this Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 8 pm ET.
Here’s a look at the official synopsis for the episode:
“Keith Morrison revisits a story that has haunted him for years; when detectives find a missing woman’s car abandoned on a bridge, their investigation uncovers a tangled plot involving money, friendship and a deadly betrayal.”
Sarah Stern’s childhood friend Liam McAtasney choked her to death before enlisting Preston Taylor’s help to dump the body
Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor were arrested after a sting operation that had amateur filmmaker Anthony Curry, secretly recording Liam’s confession. Liam admitted to killing 19-year-old Sarah Stern who had gone missing from her Neptune City, New Jersey, home on December 2, 2016. Her abandoned car with the keys still inside was found on the bridge over Shark River the next day.
McAtasney and Stern were childhood friends and as per the confession, his motive to murder her was financial. He admitted to choking the victim for 30 minutes straight to steal a few thousand dollars her mother, who died of cancer in 2013, left as an inheritance. He also revealed that the murder plan had been in the works for at least 6 months.
Later, McAtasney enlisted Taylor, his former roommate who was once Stern’s junior prom date, to help him load her body in her car. The two then drove to the bridge and threw her body into the river. They left her car with the keys still inside to make it appear like a suicide. Her body was never recovered.
In the confession, McAtasney added that the worst part of the whole thing was that he believed he was going to walk out with $50,000 to $100,000 in his pocket.
“She had one safe that she took money out [of], and she only had $10,000,” he added.
Shockingly, both McAtasney and Taylor were also a part of the search party Stern’s father organized a week after she was reported missing. Authorities initially believed the 19-year-old ran away or took her own life after talking to some friends and family.
Where are Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor now?
According to The Daily Beast, Preston Taylor accepted a plea deal and agreed to testify against Liam McAtasney. He pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree disturbing or desecrating human remains, two counts of third-degree hindering apprehension, and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
In February 2019, McAtasney was found guilty of seven counts. These included first-degree murder, conspiracy, desecrating human remains, tampering with evidence, and other charges for the murder of Sarah Stern. In June of that year, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Cinemaholic reported in 2022 that Taylor is currently serving his sentence at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton and will become up for parole in 2032. Meanwhile, McAtasney is serving his sentence at the New Jersey State Prison.
Oxygen’s Dateline: Unforgettable will further delve into Sarah Stern’s murder case on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 8 pm ET.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn