Dateline: Unforgettable - How did Sarah Stern die and was her body ever found?
Sarah Stern, a 19-year-old aspiring artist, was strangled to death by her childhood friend, Liam McAtasney. On December 2016, McAtasney, along with his ex-roommate Preston Taylor, dumped her body off a Jersey Shore bridge. The motive was financial because Stern had inherited a few thousand dollars after her mother's death, and the killer wanted the money. Her body was never found.
McAtasney was indicted for the crime after an amateur filmmaker, Anthony Curry, secretly recorded a confession. In it, McAtasney admitted to choking Stern for about half an hour and stealing two safes with money inside before enlisting Taylor's help to dump the body. The latter agreed to a plea deal and testified against the killer.
According to The Daily Beast, Liam McAtasney was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole, while Preston Taylor was given an 18-year prison sentence as part of the plea deal.
Dateline: Unforgettable on Oxygen is scheduled to chronicle Sarah Stern's murder case in an episode titled The Betrayal of Sarah Stern. The official synopsis states:
"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."
The upcoming episode will air on the channel this Wednesday, July 26, at 8:00 pm ET.
When Sarah Stern disappeared in December 2016, people believed she either ran away or died by suicide
According to The Cinemaholic, nineteen-year-old Sarah Stern was last seen alive on December 2, 2016, after which she went missing from her Neptune City, New Jersey, home.
Stern's abandoned car with the keys still inside was found on the bridge over the Shark River the following day. It was initially theorized that she died by suicide by jumping off the bridge.
Detectives soon started questioning friends and family when her childhood friend, Liam McAtasney, revealed that she was suicidal. Others believed she ran away to Canada or California because of her abusive relationship with her father.
A week later, Stern's father even organized a search party, and hundreds of people from the community volunteered, including McAtasney and his former roommate Preston Taylor, who was once Stern's junior prom date. Later, they were both arrested and charged with murder-related counts.
A sting operation and a chilling confession were used to find the perpetrator(s) behind Sarah Stern's disappearance
The Daily Beast reported that about a month after Sarah Stern's disappearance, Liam McAtasney told an amateur filmmaker named Anthony Curry that he murdered the victim and stole her inheritance. The murder plan had been in the works for about six months, right after he saw her discover a box full of cash with a note from her dead mother.
After learning this, Curry reported to detectives and cooperated with them, participating in a sting operation to record a private conversation with McAtasney and tape it. The former then set up a video confession in which the two sat in his car as the killer confessed to the grisly murder.
The outlet reported that in the video, McAtasney was heard describing the murder and how he choked Stern for a half-hour until she died:
"She just p----- herself and said my name and then that was it. And it took me a half an hour to kill her. I thought I was going to be able to choke her out and have her out in like a couple of minutes."
During the recorded conversation, McAtasney further revealed that his "biggest problem was the dog," but her "dog laid there and watched as I killed her." He then mentioned his motive - Stern's inheritance money.
ABC reported that McAtasney said,
"The worst part of it is I thought I was walking out [with] $50,000 to $100,000 in my pocket. She had one safe that she took money out [of], and she only had $10,000."
According to CBS, after committing the murder, McAtasney enlisted Preston Taylor's assistance to load Stern's body in her car, drive it to the bridge over the Shark River, and throw her body into the river. They left the car with the keys inside to make it appear like a suicide. Her body was never found.
What happened to Preston Taylor and Liam McAtasney?
Preston Taylor pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, and second-degree disturbing or desecrating human remains, among other charges. As part of the plea deal, he agreed to testify in court against McAtasney and was later given an 18-year prison sentence.
Meanwhile, Liam McAtasney was found guilty of multiple charges, which included first-degree murder, felony murder, and robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Learn more about Sarah Stern's murder on Oxygen's Dateline: Unforgettable this Wednesday.
Quick Links
Babylona Bora