The Accomplice

Summary

Bridge of Lies — Episode 5: The Accomplice

Podcast: Bridge of Lies
Host: ABC News (Juju Chang)
Date: April 7, 2026
Episode Theme:
An in-depth, gripping exploration into the unraveling of the Sarah Stern murder case, focusing on the confession and role of Preston Taylor, the close friend turned accomplice, and the law enforcement breakthroughs that brought him and Liam McAtasney to justice.

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode zeroes in on the pivotal moment investigators break the case: the confession of Preston Taylor, Sarah Stern’s former friend, and his revelations about how a close-knit circle of friends became entwined in a cold-blooded plot for money. With new details from confessions, a recreation of the crime for detectives, and the emotional responses of families, the episode captures the shattering of trust and innocence in a small Jersey shore town.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Preston Taylor’s Arrest and Initial Interrogation

Timestamps: 00:31–06:14

• Police surveillance targets Preston Taylor, Sarah Stern’s friend and Liam McAtasney's roommate, culminating in his traffic stop and detainment.
• Preston is Mirandized and, rather than asking for a lawyer, confesses quickly when confronted with detectives' knowledge of the murder.
  • Detective Brian Weisbrot: “I don't know if I've ever seen anyone confess that quickly. And then he just goes on for 52 pages or something in a transcript of describing everything that they did.” (05:06)

2. Preston’s Detailed Confession

Timestamps: 06:14–16:33

• Motive: Money
  • Preston reveals the murder was plotted for Sarah's supposed cash savings — anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, but only $10,000 was found.
    • Preston Taylor: “He wanted to try his hands on as much of it as possible.” (06:47)
    • Preston Taylor: “Money.” (06:24)
• The Murder Plot
  • Liam allegedly premeditated the killing, first discussing Sarah’s money, then planning “to kill her and steal it.”
  • Preston describes Liam strangling Sarah and seeking help hiding the body.
• Night of the Murder
  • Preston finds Sarah’s body, hides it in bushes, and later assists in moving it to her car.
  • Using walkie talkies instead of phones, the pair drives the body to the bridge for disposal in the river.
    • Preston Taylor: “He just said, 'I'm coming up on the bridge.' And I said, 'Okay, I'm coming up behind you'...” (12:08)
  • They return home, count the ill-gotten cash, and realize their crime netted far less than hoped.
    • Preston Taylor: “It was a lot of really old, beat up, torn up money…” (13:37)
  • Preston confesses he spent his cut “on some really big sum of weed.” (13:49)
• Preston's Mindset
  • He shows almost no emotion or remorse, focused only on the fallout for himself.
    • Detective Brian Weisbrot: “How do you feel about everything that happened to Sarah?”
    • Preston Taylor: “I don't really know.” (16:00)

3. Reenactment and Evidence Recovery

Timestamps: 20:46–27:52

• Investigators take Preston to Sarah’s house to recreate the events.
  • He demonstrates dragging the body, hiding it in bushes, and later transferring it to the car with Liam.
• Preston leads police to where they buried the safes: one with money at Sandy Hook Beach, another with Sarah’s belongings in Shark River Park—which took over an hour to locate.
  • Detective Nick Catalona: “It’s not something that, you know, you could just easily just come across so you could tell that they meant for nobody to ever find this again.” (24:39)
• During these searches, police find supporting evidence:
  • Walkie-talkies in Preston’s car, as described in the confession
  • The recovered safe with cash decayed similarly to bills from Sarah’s safety deposit box
  • The key to the safe in Liam’s car keys

4. Arrests and Family Reactions

Timestamps: 25:44–33:59

• Liam is arrested; unlike Preston, he immediately invokes his right to a lawyer and refuses to speak.
  • Liam (via Detective Brian Weisbrot): “And I'd rather not speak to anyone until I talk to him.” (26:28)
• Police search Liam and Preston’s shared home, find keys to the safety deposit box, but little else.
• The emotional toll on the families is profound. Liam’s mother, Megan McAtasney, expresses disbelief at the charges and swears her son is incapable of murder.
  • Megan McAtasney: “I do not believe Liam was capable of killing Sarah Stern, who he loved and adored. I did not believe Liam is capable of killing anybody.” (31:35)
• Michael Stern, Sarah’s father, recalls his shock on learning not just of Sarah’s fate, but of the betrayal by her close friends.
  • Michael Stern: “Just can't imagine turning your back on somebody and having them choke you and just leave you there. … This was the ultimate in betrayal of a friendship.” (33:59)

5. Legal Consequences and Betrayal

Timestamps: 34:42–36:10

• Preston cuts a deal: pleads guilty to robbery and other charges, avoids life without parole, and agrees to testify against Liam.
• Liam pleads not guilty, setting the stage for a painful public trial.
• The emotional devastation lingers, especially for Sarah’s family.
  • Michael Stern: “Sociopath. Obviously. Evil. Definitely. Cruel. Heartless. I don't think there's enough words to describe him.” (35:53)
• Despite Preston’s detailed confession and physical evidence, Sarah’s body is still missing, and the defense hints at an eyewitness who may complicate the prosecution’s case.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I don't know if I've ever seen anyone confess that quickly.”
  — Detective Brian Weisbrot, on Preston’s rapid confession (05:06)
• “Money.”
  — Preston Taylor, asked for the motive (06:24)
• “He was like, dude, I did it.”
  — Preston Taylor, repeating Liam’s words the night of the murder (07:48)
• “No emotion. No tears, no remorse, nothing.”
  — Detective Weisbrot, on Preston’s demeanor (16:01)
• “We got in my car and drove down, turned around, went back to our house.”
  — Preston Taylor, on how matter-of-factly the night went after disposing of the body (13:05)
• “This was the ultimate in betrayal of a friendship. So I look at life differently. I look at people differently now.”
  — Michael Stern (33:59)
• “Sociopath. Obviously. Evil. Definitely. Cruel. Heartless. I don't think there's enough words to describe him.”
  — Michael Stern, about Liam (35:53)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:31–02:56 | Police surveillance and arrest of Preston Taylor | | 03:18–06:14 | Preston’s interrogation and initial confession | | 06:14–10:21 | Detailed account of the murder plot and crime’s aftermath | | 12:05–13:32 | Walkie talkie communication and disposal of Sarah’s body | | 20:46–24:32 | Crime scene reenactment and safe recovery | | 25:44–27:52 | Liam’s arrest, evidence found in his car and home | | 29:49–32:44 | Family reactions (Megan McAtasney and Michael Stern) | | 34:42–35:53 | Legal deals, trial preparations, and final reflections |

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Episode Tone & Concluding Thoughts

The episode maintains a tense, investigative tone, blending methodical police work with the personal, emotional devastation wrought by betrayal and violence. Law enforcement voices are pragmatic and procedural, while family members’ grief and disbelief are palpable. The story paints an intimate and shocking portrait of friendship twisted into tragedy, underscoring the irrevocable cost of greed and broken trust.

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For listeners, “The Accomplice” offers deep insight into the psychology of those involved, the careful, methodical unraveling of a tightly-held secret, and the shattering ripple effect on families and community. It sets up the climactic courtroom battle to come, as the pursuit of justice collides with denial, ambiguity, and the unresolved fate of Sarah Stern’s body.

Transcript

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[Narrator/Host]

Just a warning before we get started. This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence. It's the afternoon of February 1, 2017. Police officers are stationed outside a home in Neptune City, New Jersey, just blocks from Sarah Stern's house. Since the morning, they've been watching a bluish gray two bedroom house where two young men live. Detective Brian Weisbrot says they know one of them has a 2 o' clock class at Brookdale Community College.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

And detectives who were conducting surveillance had seen him leave his house with what appeared to be books in his hand, get into his vehicle and travel away from the home.

[Narrator/Host]

Just a day earlier, during an undercover operation, Liam McAtasney described on tape how he says he murdered Sarah Stern. But Liam is not who the officers are targeting. During the sting, Liam named an accomplice.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

So Preston came over, took the body,

[Michael Stern]

put it in the bushes.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

That was the first time that Preston Taylor was implicated in the crime.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston Taylor is Liam's friend and roommate. He'd also been Sarah's friend. Weisbrot says investigators want to bring him to the police station for questioning. They want to find out if he'll talk, if he'll turn on Liam. So they plan to pull Preston over as he leaves the house he lives in with Liam and drives to class in his black 1996 Mercury Mystique. Detective Weisbrot calls one of the other officers he's been working with, Detective Nick Catalona, to fill him in on this major step in the investigation.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

Brian called me and said, you wouldn't believe what's going on. And I'm like, try me. He goes, I need you to go to the address in Titten Falls. We stopped Preston

[Narrator/Host]

suddenly. The case, which had been at a standstill for so many weeks, has rapid, high speed momentum.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

A lot of kind of disbelief that it just all unraveled the way it did, as fast as it did once.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

We stopped his car, we detained Preston and transported him to the Monmouth county prosecutor's office.

[Narrator/Host]

They bring Preston into a small interview Room which is outfitted with video cameras recording everything. He's tall, 6 foot 5, wearing a black sweater. Detective Weisbrot and another investigator are there, too. The three men crowd around a circular table, and Preston sits back in his chair with his hands folded in his lap.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

I first just want to tell you thank you for cooperating, coming down today to talk to us. We appreciate it. I know you.

[Narrator/Host]

Detective Weisbrot reads Preston his Miranda rights. The right to remain silent, the right to an attorney. And then he cuts right to the chase.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

We know what happened to Sarah. We know what your involvement in it was.

[Preston Taylor]

Right?

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

We want to talk to you about that. What we're most interested in knowing, not necessarily what happened, because we already know that. We want to know why it happened. We want to know why Liam did what he did.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston does not remain silent. He does not ask for an attorney. He looks right at Detective Weisbrot and

[Preston Taylor]

asks, what did he do?

[Narrator/Host]

What did he do?

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

He killed Sarah. Okay? And we know you know that, right? You know that, correct? Yes. Correct.

[Narrator/Host]

Yes, correct. Preston doesn't try and leverage what he knows for a deal with investigators like Liam sitting in Anthony Curry's car. Preston decides to let it all spill out, starting with, yes, Liam killed Sarah.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

What was interesting about Preston's interview is that he just wanted confirmation that we knew that Liam had killed Sarah. And when I told him Liam killed Sarah, that was enough for Preston. Preston realized at that point, obviously, that we knew what had transpired.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutor Chris Decker is watching the interview from another room.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

I don't know if I've ever seen anyone confess that quickly. And then he just goes on for 52 pages or something in a transcript of describing everything that they did.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston had once been Sarah's junior prom date. They'd gone as friends. In a photo from that night, he's smiling in a black bow tie with his arm around her as she wears a white off the shoulder dress. Now, he was sitting in a room with detectives telling them that as Sarah's community and family desperately searched for her, he had known all along that. That she was not coming home. But police have a lot more to learn from Preston. How long did Liam plan this brutal betrayal of their childhood friend? Why did Liam kill Sarah? Why did Preston go along with it? And what happened to Sarah's body? From ABC Audio and 20 20. I'm Juju Chang, and this is Bridge of Lies Episode 5 the Accomplice.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

You're a 19 year old kid. You have a whole life ahead of you, all right? You gotta lay it out for us as to why it happened. All right. And why he did what he did.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston speaks quietly, almost mumbling. There is no emotion in his voice as he gives a one word answer. Money. He says Liam murdered his childhood friend for money.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

How much money are we talking about?

[Narrator/Host]

According to Preston, Liam thought she had anywhere from 50 to 150 grand.

[Preston Taylor]

He wanted to try his hands on as much of it as possible. Okay.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Did he tell you ahead of time that he was going to do this?

[Preston Taylor]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston says Liam came into a bar one day and started talking about Sarah's money. Then about a month or two later, according to Preston, Liam came up with a plan to kill her and steal it.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

What did he tell you he planned on doing?

[Preston Taylor]

Taking her out and then find somewhere to disposing the body.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

When you say taking her out, what

[Preston Taylor]

do you mean strangling her?

[Narrator/Host]

Preston keeps looking at the detectives, sitting up straight in his chair as he details Liam's violent plot to murder Sarah. Preston says that on the day Sarah was murdered, he was working construction with his dad. He got home just as Liam was leaving for his job, waiting tables at the steakhouse.

[Preston Taylor]

He was like, dude, I did it.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

When he said that he did it, did you know what that meant?

[Preston Taylor]

Yeah.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

What did you take that to mean?

[Preston Taylor]

I told you she killed Sarah. Okay. Said that her body was still at the house and that he needs to get rid of it tonight.

[Narrator/Host]

When Preston was first interviewed by police in the days after Sarah disappeared, his story almost entirely matched the one Liam told the police. He said Liam went to work as usual, and when he got home, the two of them hung out at their house. The only discrepancy between their accounts was that Liam said he had a great work shift, and Preston said Liam had a bad night at the steakhouse. Otherwise they were aligned. Now Preston is completely changing his story, and step by step, he's corroborating what Liam told Anthony Curry during the undercover operation about how Liam carried out his plan to murder Sarah and cover it up. Preston says as Liam left for work, he sent him to Sarah's house with two tasks. First, Liam had lost his phone there and asked Preston to search for it. And second, Liam wanted Preston to move Sarah's body out of the house.

[Preston Taylor]

He said that her aunt and grandma were stopping by later, and that is why it had to be moved.

[Narrator/Host]

When Preston got to Sarah's house, the sun was starting to go down. He says he hadn't been to the house for years, but had hung out with friends there before he entered the house through the unlocked back door and found Sarah in the bathroom.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Did you see any blood? Did you see any bruising, any marks or anything on her body?

[Preston Taylor]

She was starting to turn pale and, like, a whitish purple color, but kind of like bruises or anything.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston says he looked around for Liam's phone but couldn't find it. According to investigators, the phone was ultimately found in Sarah's driveway and given to police. After failing to find Liam's phone, Preston says he pulled Sarah out of the bathroom and hid her body in some bushes in the yard.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

And then what did you do?

[Preston Taylor]

I went back to my house and waited.

[Narrator/Host]

He had just dragged his high school classmate out of her home and hidden her body. But that was not the end of Preston's night or the end of his involvement in covering up Sarah's murder. According to Preston, there was much more to Liam's plan, and he was a key part of it. He tells investigators he waited at home for Liam to return from work.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

How would you describe his demeanor when he came home?

[Preston Taylor]

Just completely frantic and out of his words.

[Narrator/Host]

According to Preston, Liam still planned to steal Sarah's money and get rid of her body, and Liam had carefully thought through how to do this. He knew there were surveillance cameras on the street. So Preston says they drove in his car to a street near Sarah's house and parked at a dead end to avoid being captured by those cameras at the house. Preston says he looked for Liam's phone again while Liam went upstairs to take a safe from Sarah's room. This safe was what Liam had been after all along, remember? According to Preston, Liam believed there could be 50 to 150 grand inside. Once Liam grabbed the safe, Preston says, they left the house and moved Sarah's body from the bushes to the passenger seat of her car. Liam drove Sarah's car to the bridge, and Preston followed behind. They used walkie talkies to communicate along the way because Preston says, Liam thought it was a bad idea to use their phones.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

What kind of things were you guys communicating about?

[Preston Taylor]

They just said, I'm coming up on the bridge. And I said, okay, I'm coming up behind you. And he's like, all right, hurry up, because I'm not. Because I can't get this over myself. And I pulled up behind him.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston says Liam needed help dragging Sarah's body out of the car and pulling her over the bridge's railing, so he stopped his car and helped. Preston keeps his matter of fact tone as he describes what it was like to throw his high school prom date into The Shark River. No tears, no shaking in his voice, just the same steady drip of horrifying detail.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Was that hard to do physically to get her over the bridge?

[Preston Taylor]

No. Two people.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Okay, did you. Did you guys know when she hit the water? Did you hear anything or see anything?

[Preston Taylor]

No.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

All right, and then what happened after that?

[Preston Taylor]

We got in my car and drove down, turned around, went back to our house.

[Narrator/Host]

Back at their house, Preston says they drank and smoked weed, and then it was time to break open Sarah's safe and count their money. The whole reason for their betrayal. According to Preston, Liam did the counting.

[Preston Taylor]

10,000.

[Narrator/Host]

$10,000.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Did you see the money? Can you describe it to us?

[Preston Taylor]

What did it look like? It was a lot of really old, beat up, torn up money, and it

[Narrator/Host]

was a lot less than they were expecting. Preston says Liam gave him three grand.

[Preston Taylor]

I spent half of it on some really big sum of weed.

[Narrator/Host]

He spent the money on weed. The money he says Liam had killed for. The money Preston had helped cover up a murder for. Preston had spent half of his share already to get high. Preston says Liam took the rest of the money and put it in a different safe he had. They buried that safe at one location. They put some of Sarah's clothes in her safe and buried it in another spot. At this point, Preston has given investigators a play by play of the aftermath of Sarah's murder. But Detective Weisbrot has some bigger questions for him, too.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

What are the other reasons why he killed Sarah, other than the money? Is there a thrill involved in it? Is this something that he's always wanted to do? Hmm?

[Preston Taylor]

Look, no, it was just.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

It was for the money.

[Preston Taylor]

Yeah.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Okay. What did he need the money for?

[Preston Taylor]

Just starting to move out, and he was getting tired of his job at Brennan's.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Did he owe anybody money?

[Preston Taylor]

No,

[Narrator/Host]

not that I knew that during the whole interview. Preston has not shown much emotion, and in his version of events, he just went along with a plan Liam had come up with. Detective Weisbrot wants to know more about Preston's mindset. How did he become an accomplice to murder?

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Were you supportive of him doing this so you can get some of the money?

[Preston Taylor]

I didn't really think it was going to happen until it actually did, like it was really going to do it. And I couldn't really, like, tell him, like, no, don't do it. I just said, don't do it very daily.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

How do you feel about everything that happened to Sarah?

[Narrator/Host]

I don't really know.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Preston says no emotions, no tears, no remorse, nothing. What do you think about.

[Preston Taylor]

I think about what it means for me if any of it did come back to us.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Did you think it was going to?

[Preston Taylor]

Liam did a pretty good job of convincing that she'd covered everything up. Just went along.

[Narrator/Host]

The investigators end their interview with Preston after nearly two hours. They tell him a prosecutor will make a decision about what to charge him with, but they're not done with Preston yet. They ask him to take them back to Sarah's house, back to the scene of the crime and show them exactly how Liam carried out this cold blooded murder and covered it up.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Let me just go get our cars ready and we'll, we'll take a ride. Okay?

[Preston Taylor]

All right.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[Michael Stern]

All right.

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[Narrator/Host]

After Preston's confession, well into a bitter cold night, investigators drive him to Sarah's house. They bring video equipment and flashlights to navigate the dark, and they start recording when they arrive because Preston is about to walk them through everything that happened at the house.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Today's date is February 1, 2017. The approximate time is 11:15pm Detective Weisbrot

[Narrator/Host]

says because it's so cold out, police give Preston a firefighter jacket. It's black with big yellow reflective strips on it that glow in the dark. Preston is also wearing a red baseball cap that says St. Louis.

[Preston Taylor]

I had parked my car just right over here and top the fence right here.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston is more animated than during his interview at the station. He walks investigators into the house through the back door.

[Preston Taylor]

The lights back here are off, but the kitchen and the living room lights were on.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Okay.

[Narrator/Host]

Then he takes them through some folding doors into the bathroom, and

[Preston Taylor]

Sarah was slumped in this corner right here.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

Do you recall what Sarah was wearing when you came into the house that day?

[Preston Taylor]

Jeans and a black hoodie. Okay.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston demonstrates how he approached Sarah from behind, looped his arms under her shoulders, lifted her up, and dragged her backwards out of the house.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

So were her feet dragging on the ground?

[Preston Taylor]

Yeah. Okay. And then I carried her over here and dragged her over here and kind of sat her under the bushes right here.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston points to some prickly evergreen bushes by the fence. He explains that when he came back hours later, he waited while Liam got Sarah's safe. Then, Preston says Liam handed him the safe and. And went out front to get Sarah's car from the driveway. Liam then pulled the car around and went to the fence to meet him. Preston says he lifted Sarah up and passed her over to Liam, who then put her in the passenger seat of her car.

[Preston Taylor]

Liam made the k turn and took off. He made a right and took some roundabout way of getting over to the bridge.

[Narrator/Host]

Investigators can now visualize how Preston and Liam moved Sarah's body out of the house and into her car, which they would eventually abandon on the bridge. Preston also took police to where the two safes were buried. First, he led them to a park by Sandy hook Beach, about 30 minutes away. That's where investigators say Preston told them he and Liam buried the safe with Sarah's money in it. Detective Nick Catalona says they parked on a side road and walked up a steep hill overlooking an old mortar battery. There were four pits where the mortars, which look sort of like cannons, used to be stationed.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

So he walked us down the middle ridge of the four pit, and then he pointed to an area in the northeast corner and. And said, down there is where we buried the safe. And we had to descend into the pit after that. Once we got to the area where he was pointing to, we started photoed it, and then we started digging. And then as we were digging, we just happened to look just a little bit to the left of where we were digging, and there's the corner of the safe just sticking out.

[Narrator/Host]

Detective Catalona says the safe was discovered far from the park's popular areas.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

It's not something that, you know, you could just easily just come across so you could tell that they meant for nobody to ever find this again.

[Narrator/Host]

After finding that safe, Preston took investigators to Shark river Park, just 10 minutes from Sarah's house. They were looking for her safe, the one with her clothes in it. The park is nearly 1,000 acres, and it took Preston an hour and a half to find the right location. They were out there for so long. Investigators got him a burger and fries from McDonald's to eat for dinner. As Preston took some officers through the sprawling park, Detective Weisbrot said another set of officers made the next big move in the case. They decided to bring Liam in. It had been nearly two months since Sarah disappeared, and they were now ready to make an arrest for her murder.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

While we were in the park with him, detectives had stopped Liam's car and had arrested him at that point.

[Narrator/Host]

After being arrested, Liam is brought to the same small room with the circular table that Preston had confessed in just hours earlier. But Weisbrot says Liam doesn't know that.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

He had no idea. You're being charged with murder, felony murder, first degree robbery, desecration of human remains, conspiracy, and hindering apprehension. Okay.

[Narrator/Host]

All the other times Liam had been questioned by the police, he had played along, answered their questions, tried to seem helpful. This time, unlike Preston, Liam does not talk. He just responds by saying he has an attorney.

[Preston Taylor]

Okay.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

And I'd rather not speak to anyone until I talk to him. Ok, Great.

[Narrator/Host]

By the end of the night, investigators have Liam and Preston in custody. A detailed account from Preston of how Sarah's body was moved from her home and thrown over the bridge. And the two safes. They also searched Preston's car.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

Right next to the driver's seat, between the emergency brake and the center console was a Cobra brand walkie talkie, which was consistent. What Preston told us that they used walkie talkies to communicate.

[Narrator/Host]

And they searched Liam's car.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

And after we searched his car, the keys for his car had a key.

[Narrator/Host]

It was a key to the safe they had recovered from Sandy Hook, the one Preston said he and Liam had put Sarah's money in. Inside, detectives found nearly $10,000 in cash. The money was almost identical to the money in Sarah's safety deposit box at the bank.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

Dry rot falling apart, stuck together. These bills and the bills that we found in Sarah's safety deposit box had to have at least been exposed to the same environmental conditions for the same relative period of time to exhibit, you know, the same sort of wear.

[Narrator/Host]

Their next stop would be Liam's house. Back in December, they had knocked on his door in the middle of the night, hoping he could help them find Sarah. Now he was charged with her murder, and they were continuing to build their case against him. They were also about to break the news to Sarah's dad that the investigation had led them right back to where they started, with Sarah's childhood friend, the last person to see her alive.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

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[Megan McAtasney]

I came home from work and I started making dinner and I noticed there was a bright light coming from my backyard.

[Narrator/Host]

This is Megan McAtasney, Liam's mom. She spoke with ABC News in 2019.

[Megan McAtasney]

And I looked out the back window and I thought Liam and his friends were shooting a movie or a video. And I decided to go back there and say hi to everybody. I was walking through my backyard and all of the men that were at the property were in street clothes. So I was trying to figure out who they were because I didn't recognize them as Liam's friends. And I remember joking and saying, hey guys, what are you up to back here? What are you shooting? And then a detective yelled at me to stand back. And at that point I realized that people were going through my son's trash. They had gloves on. They were raiding my son's home. I asked where my son was and I was told, ma', am, you have

[Narrator/Host]

to get back she says she ran inside to call her lawyer, Liam's dad, and Preston's mom, but none of them knew anything about what was happening.

[Megan McAtasney]

And we didn't know where our boys were.

[Narrator/Host]

Detectives went through the two bedroom house Liam and Preston lived in.

[Detective Nick Catalona]

Liam's bedroom was pretty neat and orderly. Preston's, on the other hand, was not. We searched the attic. We pulled up insulation in the attic, looked through storage. There wasn't anything.

[Narrator/Host]

Detective Catalona says that later they searched a vent and found a key to Sarah's safety deposit box at Kearney Bank. Megan, Liam's mom, says she didn't know what was going on until the middle

[Megan McAtasney]

of the night and was told by what Liam was being charged with. And my head was just spinning because I didn't understand what was happening. And I just started calling family members and I didn't understand why in every bone of my body. I do not believe Liam was capable of killing Sarah Stern, who he loved and adored. I did not believe Liam is capable of killing anybody.

[Narrator/Host]

She described her son as a friendly person, a good brother to his identical twin and two younger siblings, and a loving, generous friend.

[Megan McAtasney]

I don't think Liam had an enemy. He just adores his friends. He would do anything for his friends, take the shirt off, stop what he was doing to go and help anybody that needed it. If he was driving home from school and he saw somebody on the side of the road walking, he'd offer them a ride home.

[Narrator/Host]

It had already been a tough week for Sarah's dad, Michael Stern, his mother in law, had passed away. And now, just days later, detectives were calling him about Sarah's case.

[Michael Stern]

I wasn't home and they said, well, we'd like to talk you at the house. And I said, okay, I'll see you in 15 or 20 minutes. And walked in and those detectives, the police department, they were there and just sit down. We want to tell you something.

[Narrator/Host]

Michael says they told him that during an undercover statement, Liam had described Sarah's murder. And it was all on tape, every awful detail.

[Michael Stern]

They just told me what was on there, and they said it was just, you don't want to hear the details.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

He was shocked, he was sad. He couldn't believe the information that we were providing to him. He knew Liam McAtasney. He knew Liam McAtasney's family, his mother. He had driven Liam to and from school. Preston Taylor went to the prom with Sarah. He knew these people.

[Michael Stern]

Just can't imagine turning your back on somebody and having them choke you and just leave you there. You never know who your friends are. This was the ultimate in betrayal of a friendship. So I look at life differently. I look at people differently now. Nothing is as it was in my life and a lot of other family members, too.

[Narrator/Host]

Preston Taylor eventually cut a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to robbery, conspiracy, disturbing or desecrating human remains, hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence. He also agreed to testify against Liam. In exchange, a felony murder charge against him, which could have meant life without parole, was dropped. His attorney at the time, John Perrone, told ABC News in an interview in 2019 that Preston is a follower who is easily led.

[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

It just didn't sink in that this was a plan, that somebody's life was going to be taken until it actually happened. Preston was a scared individual that did something wrong and helped somebody who did something even more egregious.

[Narrator/Host]

Unlike Preston, Liam McAtasney pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. So his case was going to trial. That meant Michael and all of Sarah's family and friends would have to face Liam in court and listen to the recording of him brazenly describing Sarah's murder.

[Michael Stern]

Sociopath. Obviously. Evil. Definitely. Cruel. Heartless. I don't think there's enough words to describe him. Evil human being.

[Narrator/Host]

What would happen in the courtroom as Liam stood trial for the ultimate betrayal of his childhood friend? Prosecutors were heading into the trial armed with Preston's confession and and Liam's own incriminating words. But Sarah's body still had not been found and the defense had found a surprise eyewitness, someone who said he had seen Sarah the morning after her disappearance walking near the bridge. Would prosecutors be able to convict Liam? Or could he walk away a free man?

[Preston Taylor]

Foreign

[Narrator/Host]

Bridge of Lies is a production of ABC Audio and 2020 hosted by me, Juju Chang. Produced by Camille Peterson and Sabrina Fang. Fact checking and production help from Audrey Mostek and Annalisa Linder. Tracy Samuelson is our story editor. Our supervising producer is Sasha Aslanian. Music and men mixing by Evan Biola. Special thanks to Katie Dendos, Janice Johnston, Joseph Diaz, Avery Brook and Michelle Margulis. Josh Cohan is our director of podcast programming. Eamon McNiff is our executive producer.

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Detective Brian Weisbrot]

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