Shocking Confession Tape Exposes Best Friend Turned Killer!? The Case of Sarah Stern

Summary

True Crime with Kendall Rae: Shocking Confession Tape Exposes Best Friend Turned Killer!? The Case of Sarah Stern

Episode Release Date: December 19, 2024
Hosted by: Mile Higher Media & Audioboom Studios

---

Introduction

In this poignant and riveting episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae, Kendall delves deep into the tragic and unsettling case of Sarah Stern. Known for her empathetic approach to true crime, Kendall meticulously unpacks the events leading to Sarah's untimely death, the ensuing investigation, and the shocking revelations that surfaced through a confession tape. This detailed summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn by Kendall and her team.

---

Who Was Sarah Stern?

Sarah Lee Stern was born on March 24, 1997, to Michael and Carla Stern in Neptune City, New Jersey. An only child, Sarah was a vibrant and talented individual with a passion for sports and the arts. By her freshman year at Neptune High School, she was already a varsity softball and swim team member, juggling a busy athletic career with her growing love for creative expression. Sarah's interests ranged from drawing and painting to photography and digital media, making her a well-rounded and admired individual in her community.

Kendall shares a heartfelt tribute to Sarah, stating, “From what I learned about Sarah Stern, she really seemed to be an incredible young woman who really had a beautiful and full life ahead of her” ([Transcript: 12:00]). Sarah was also an avid YouTube enthusiast, finding solace and community within the platform, particularly through creators like Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart, Jenna Marbles, and Julian Solomita. Her favorite quote from her high school yearbook encapsulates her optimistic spirit: “Be yourself from the beginning to the end of time. Don’t ever be what you think other people would want you to be” ([Transcript: 13:50]).

The Disappearance of Sarah Stern

On December 2, 2016, Sarah Stern's promising life was abruptly cut short under mysterious circumstances. The initial incident occurred in the early morning hours of December 3rd when an Uber driver discovered Sarah's abandoned 1994 silver sedan on the Route 35 Belmar Bridge at 2:46 AM ([Transcript: 10:18]). The car was left with the keys in the ignition, but there were no signs of Sarah or any personal belongings nearby, sparking immediate concern.

Kendall recounts the alarm felt by Sarah’s father, Michael Stern, who received a distressing call from law enforcement notifying him of his daughter's disappearance while he was out of town. “And so, in the middle of the night, he began the long drive back to New Jersey desperately trying to get in touch with his daughter” ([Transcript: 10:59]).

Investigation and Initial Interviews

As authorities scrambled to locate Sarah, they initiated a series of interviews with those close to her, including Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor—longtime friends of Sarah.

Interview with Liam McAtasney

During his first interview, Liam appeared cooperative but both his demeanor and the information he provided raised suspicions. At [15:27], Liam reveals, “she's been trying to get away and tell me she's going to Canada,” planting the idea that Sarah was contemplating fleeing to escape a troubled home life.

Interview with Preston Taylor

Following Liam, Preston Taylor was brought in for questioning. Unlike Liam, Preston distanced himself from Sarah, referring to her as a "mutual friend" ([Transcript: 40:02]). His reluctance to acknowledge a close bond with Sarah contrasted sharply with Liam's portrayal, further deepening the mystery surrounding Sarah's disappearance.

Kendall observes, “The conversations with both Liam and Preston seemed to paint a picture of Sarah being depressed and wanting to leave her father,” which initially led investigators to consider theories of suicide or sudden disappearance ([Transcript: 17:39]).

The Confession Tape

A pivotal moment in the investigation occurred when a confession tape surfaced, featuring Liam McAtasney discussing the events surrounding Sarah's disappearance. Recorded in a candid and disturbing manner, Liam casually admits to strangling Sarah and attempting to dispose of her body. At [46:21], Liam remarks, “But he mentions how her dog watched the entire time it happened,” showcasing his unsettling lack of remorse and the depth of his deception.

Kendall reflects on the tape, stating, “I just absolutely love that. I just absolutely love that,” emphasizing the shock and horror elicited by Liam's nonchalant recounting of his heinous actions ([Transcript: 35:47]).

Breakthrough: Anthony Curry Steps In

The case took a significant turn when Anthony Curry, a former classmate of Sarah and Liam, came forward with crucial information. Anthony recounted a conversation with Liam on Thanksgiving Day of 2016, where Liam jokingly discussed a movie plot involving Sarah’s murder ([Transcript: 28:17]). This revelation was a game-changer, prompting investigators to connect Liam directly to the crime.

Anthony's bravery in coming forward and providing evidence was instrumental in building a case against Liam. Kendall praises Anthony's actions: “Hats off to Anthony because he was very brave to do that” ([Transcript: 48:30]).

Arrests and Trial

With mounting evidence, including the confession tape and testimonies from Preston, authorities moved swiftly to arrest those involved.

Preston Taylor's Involvement

Preston confessed to his role in the crime, detailing how he assisted Liam in moving Sarah’s body and staging the scene to resemble a suicide. His cooperation was pivotal, leading to the discovery of Sarah’s money and the final unraveling of the plot ([Transcript: 58:26]).

Liam McAtasney's Defense

During the trial, Liam’s defense team employed questionable strategies, including attempting to dismiss the confession tape as an "audition tape" for a movie ([Transcript: 74:54]). This defense was widely ridiculed, as the evidence against Liam was overwhelming.

Verdict and Sentencing

On February 26, 2019, Liam McAtasney was found guilty on all charges, including murder, robbery, and desecration of human remains. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional 10 years ([Transcript: 55:27]).

Preston Taylor received a plea deal, pled guilty to several charges, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison with the possibility of parole in May 2032. His testimony was crucial in securing Liam’s conviction.

Aftermath and Memorial

Sarah Stern’s family and community were left devastated by her loss. Her father, Michael Stern, has been vocal about the pain and the inadequate reliance on the justice system, expressing a desire for the death penalty despite its abolition in New Jersey. In honor of Sarah’s memory, Michael established the Sarah Lee Stern Scholarship Fund to support high school students pursuing the arts, a testament to Sarah’s enduring legacy.

Kendall concludes the episode with a touching celebration of Sarah’s life, sharing the high school yearbook quote that embodies her spirit: “Be yourself from the beginning to the end of time. Don’t ever be what you think other people would want you to be” ([Transcript: 74:54]).

Conclusion

This episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae serves not only as a recounting of a tragic event but also as a homage to a young woman whose life was unjustly taken. Kendall’s thorough investigation and compassionate storytelling bring to light the complexities of Sarah Stern’s case, highlighting issues of trust, deception, and the relentless pursuit of truth. The episode underscores the profound impact such crimes have on victims' families and communities, leaving listeners both informed and emotionally moved.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Kendall Rae: "From what I learned about Sarah Stern, she really seemed to be an incredible young woman who really had a beautiful and full life ahead of her" ([12:00]).

• Liam McAtasney: "She's been trying to get away and tell me she's going to Canada" ([15:27]).

• Preston Taylor: "I think she jumped," suggesting Sarah took her own life ([40:48]).

• Liam McAtasney: "The worst part of it is I thought I was walking out 50 grand, 100 grand in my pocket" ([46:21]).

• Kendall Rae: "Sarah does not deserve any of this" ([55:27]).

---

Final Thoughts

Kendall Rae's empathetic approach ensures that Sarah Stern's story is told with the dignity and respect it deserves, emphasizing the importance of remembering victims and seeking justice. This episode not only informs but also honors Sarah's memory, advocating for awareness and support for victims of violent crimes.

Transcript

[Kendall Ray]

How do you feel when you switch to Geico and save on your car insurance?

[Liam McAtasney]

It's like going to work on Thursday.

[Kendall Ray]

Morning and thinking to yourself just one.

[Liam McAtasney]

More day until Friday. But then somebody walks into the elevator.

[Kendall Ray]

And says happy Friyay.

[Liam McAtasney]

Then you check your phone quickly and.

[Kendall Ray]

Discover today is actually Friday.

[Liam McAtasney]

So yes. Happy Fri. Yay. Random stranger in the elevator. Happy Fri. Yay indeed. Yep, switching and saving with Geico feels just like that. Get More With Geico it can get.

[Kendall Ray]

Lonely climbing Mount McKinley. So to entertain myself I go to Chumbacasino.com@chumbacasino I can play hundreds of online casino style games for free like online slots, bingo, Slingo and more. Plus I get a daily login bonus. It's just too bad that up here I don't have anyone to share my excitement with. Woohoo.

[Liam McAtasney]

Woohoo.

[Kendall Ray]

Cha cha cha cha. Chumba. Live the Chumba life anytime, anywhere. Play for free [e-mail] VTW room no purchase necessary.

[Liam McAtasney]

Void where prohibited by law.

[Kendall Ray]

See terms and conditions 18 foreign and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Ray. Actually, the final episode of True Crime with Kendall Ray. Not forever, but for 2024. I can't believe it. This year just absolutely flew by. Does anyone else feel that way? I cannot. It feels like it was January yesterday. But yes, I am about to take a break for the holidays and I will be back January 7th. So it feels like quite a while that I, you know, won't see you guys. But of course connect with me on social media and we can stay in touch during the break. But yeah, I just wanted to give you guys a huge thank you for all of your support over this year. True Crime with Kendall Rae has had a great year and you know, that goes to everyone who watches on YouTube, but also people who listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever else you can listen to the show. So I just, I'm really, really grateful and also grateful to my team who makes the show possible every single week. But I am really excited for 2025. I've got a lot of great content already planned in the works and we will hit the ground running on January 7th. Also, we've got a lot of cool projects in the works right now for Higher Hope, which is my foundation, if you didn't know. And that brings me to my next reminder. First reminder, I don't know. I am My brain's not really firing at full capacity today, but if you didn't know, Mile Howard Media is doing our annual holiday matching program for donations. And this year we are doing it for our foundation, Higher Hope. And that means we are matching your donations dollar for dollar. So your gift goes twice as far. Now is a great time to donate and also tis the season, you know, to give back. And of course, As a reminder, 100% of all of your donations does go directly to victims of violent crime and services for them and their families. So we are offering that through December 27th. You can find all the information below if you would like to donate. And huge thank you to everyone in advance who has already donated or is planning to donate. Really, we cannot do all of this work without you guys. And obviously just wanted to say once again, thank you for supporting the show because that is also what funds Higher Hope. And I'm really proud of the work that we've been able to do so far. We've gotten a lot of grants done just since we've launched. And yeah, I can't wait to share more with you about what we're planning to do. But anyway, let's get into today's case, you guys. We're going to be talking about Sarah Stern. Now, this is a case that some of you, I feel, or maybe a decent amount of you may have heard of. It has been covered by a variety of true crime shows, but it's been a while since it's gotten any big coverage, I believe. And the reason I say a lot of you may have heard of it is because Sarah was also a huge fan of YouTube, very clued into the whole scene in the early days, and there were some big creators that spoke out about her. And we do have a lot to go over here. So I am going to stop rambling and go ahead and get in. Now, I will warn you, this case is infuriating as they are most of the time. It's very upsetting. What happened to Sarah is unbelievably heartbreaking. So unnecessary. And really the person who did this to her is just truly evil. I don't know how else to explain it. From what I learned about Sarah Stern, she really seemed to be an incredible young woman who really had a beautiful and full life ahead of her. And the opportunity to live that life was ripped out from underneath her. My heart truly goes out to all of her loved ones, all of her friends, and especially to her dad, Michael, because he has been through hell and back the last few years. So let's start out like we always do by talking about who Sarah was. Sara Lee Stern was born on March 24, 1997 to her loving parents, Michael and Carla, who raised her in Neptune City, New Jersey. As an only child and growing up, Sarah really took an interest in sports. And by her freshman year at Neptune high school, she was already a member of the varsity softball team as well as the swim team. So, very busy girl. Before, as talented of an athlete that she was, Sarah really began to find passion for something else. Throughout high school, Sarah became more and more passionate about the arts. She loved drawing, painting, photography, digital media. Really all of it. If it involves some type of creative expression, Sarah enjoyed doing it, and she was very, very talented. I wanted to share her favorite quot because I absolutely love this and I had never heard it myself, and that is practice, reckless optimism, which means not only maintaining a positive outlook on life, but believing things will work out even in circumstances where it doesn't seem like they will. I think that's something that all of us could hang on to and remind ourselves about on a daily basis. I just absolutely love that. Unfortunately, though, Sarah really did go through some hard times in her young life. In 2013, her mother actually passed away from cancer. She was in high school at the time. And I imagine art was, you know, in some way sort of a form of therapy or an emotional release, a way for her to momentarily escape. And like I mentioned earlier, YouTube was also something that Sarah just loved and definitely helped her get through some immense loss of her mom and the pain that came with it. And I know so many of you can probably relate to that. I see comments constantly from you guys on all of our different shows saying things like, you know, I'm having a really hard time right now, and this show is giving me a bit of joy or taking my mind off things. And that seemed to be what content creators and YouTube content, all of that really was for Sarah. And of course, she had some favorites. And I'm sure many of you will know who these people are. I was certainly a fan of them myself and still am. They're awesome. She absolutely loved Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, and Mamrie Hart. She was such a huge fan of the three of them, especially as a trio, because they would do, you know, collaboration videos and stuff. And honestly, the YouTube space in general, especially how it was back then, I feel like it's changed in a lot of ways, but when it first started, it was really a sense of community. And of course, there. There still is a bit of that now. It. I don't know, it was just a little different back then. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. But Sarah really, like, found community and made friends through the YouTube world. She was an avid attendee at VidCon, Comic Con Playlist Live, you know, all of those conventions. And she would go and meet up with her Internet and just have the best time together, meeting the people that they looked up to. But two of her absolute favorite creators. And I'm sure a lot of you are big fans, too, and I certainly am. Jenna Marbles and Julian Solomita. Now, Jenna, obviously is no longer on the tube. We miss her. I miss her all the time. But, yeah, Julian's still around. I believe he does streaming. And they're awesome. And Sarah just adored them. And she always made it a point to go and see them anytime they're at one of the conventions that she was at. So she had seen them several times. And so they, you know, they obviously meet tons of fans, but they knew who she was. And after everything happened, they were quick to post about Sarah online. They raised awareness about her disappearance and offered condolences to her family. And it just goes to show how loved Sarah was and how much of a big impact her loss had on everyone that she met. Sarah was truly just a loyal friend, a thoughtful daughter, and someone whose laid back and joyful personality made her easy to love. And her passing has been tremendously painful for everyone who had the opportunities to know and love her. Now, by 2016, Sarah was attending Brookdale Community College, where she studied TV production and art. And she was on the path towards a successful and creative future. But she never got the chance to live out her dreams because of what happened on December 2, 2016. And to explain what happened, I need to jump forward ever so slightly to the early morning hours of December 3rd. At 2:46am, a 911 call was placed by an Uber driver who was passing over the Route 35 Belmar Bridge. And they reported an abandoned vehicle. And it didn't appear to him like there was an accident, but he decided to call it in anyway, and good thing he did. 911, where is the emergency?

[Liam McAtasney]

Not emergency, actually, on the Belmar Bridge. Right after heading south. In the middle of the bridge, there's a car that's abandoned.

[Kendall Ray]

It's off to the side of the road.

[Liam McAtasney]

But the Belmar bridge being the 35 bridge. Yeah, the 35 bridge would be going over, then going from north, going south into Belmar, into Belmar.

[Kendall Ray]

Yeah.

[Liam McAtasney]

Did you pass the midpoint? Because up to the midpoint is Neptune.

[Kendall Ray]

And therefore the midpoint is Del. Mar.

[Liam McAtasney]

So yeah, Neptune.

[Kendall Ray]

Actually technically it was after.

[Liam McAtasney]

It looks like it was more on the Neptune side.

[Kendall Ray]

So what kind of car is it?

[Liam McAtasney]

Kind of looks like an old beat up, light tan colored like sedan. And what was your name, sir? It's okay, just rather be anonymous. And this is your cell number? Yeah, I'm driving Uber and Lyft tonight, so I just figured I'd give a calling because it's kind of hard to see, I think if you're coming the other way.

[Kendall Ray]

And was there anybody inside the vehicle?

[Liam McAtasney]

I looked now.

[Kendall Ray]

Okay.

[Liam McAtasney]

They were sleeping. I couldn't see them by their head being up. Nobody like or in it.

[Kendall Ray]

All right, then. At 2:52am an officer arrived at the scene to find a silver 1994 sedan abandoned on the bridge. And no, there hadn't been an accident. But what concerned him was the fact that the keys were still in the ignition. Based on how it appeared, he did have to check for signs that this was possibly an unaliving attempt. However, there were no signs of a body or any personal belongings nearby at all. So he goes ahead and calls dispatch to try and figure out who this vehicle belongs to, as well as to get a tow truck over there to remove the car from the area. And he quickly learns that this car is registered to a woman named Lillian Stern, who is Sarah Stern's grandmother. But it wasn't Lillian who drove that car, it was Sarah. So their efforts that night were to try and get in touch with her. So they started out by reaching out to her cell phone carrier to ping her phone, hoping that maybe that would give them her last general location. And they were able to see that her phone Last registered at 7:49pm near her house. So they went over there. And meanwhile, Sarah's father Michael, is getting a very scary phone call that no parent ever wants to get. He was actually out of town in Florida. And as soon as officers asked if he knew why Sarah's car would have been abandoned, he automatically just knew something was wrong. And so in the middle of the night, he began the long drive back to New Jersey desperately trying to get in touch with his daughter. Now back at their house, two officers are attempting to locate Sarah. And they decided to enter the house through the unlocked front door after repeated efforts to knock on doors and windows went unanswered. And inside the house they performed an extensive search, not only looking for Sarah, but for anyone who could help explain where she was and why her car may have been left on the bridge. But there was nobody inside. And the only sign of life was Sarah's dog Buddy, who had been left in his cage. Now anyone who knew Sarah would tell you that that was incredibly strange, very out of character for her because she loved her dog Buddy more than anything in the world and there was no chance that she would have just left him in a cage like that. Especially if she wasn't planning on returning. I am so excited to talk about today's sponsor because this is one of my favorite brands and getting to work with them is such a dream. And I'm talking about Our Place. We first got kitchenware from Our Place probably about four years ago now and they have held up so well. They are always our go to when we're making anything. Not only do they work really well, they hold up well, but they're non toxic kitchenware and appliances that is a much healthier and sustainable choice. Plus they look beautiful. My favorite color is green, so all of our R Place kitchenware is green and I love it that way. And while it's nice that they look beautiful, what really matters is how they're going to work right. Our meals always come out so much better when we use Our Place. And not only that, they're so much easier to clean. And in comparison, most of today's non stick pans contain pfas, also known as forever chemicals which as I'm sure you've heard are under increasing global scrutiny for their impact on the environment and on our health. Recognizing their impact, the EU actually plans to prohibit PFAS by 2025. But most cookware brands continue to use these chemicals due to their low cost. Leading the change, Our Place has always been PFAS free and offers the most durable toxin free ceramic coatings ensuring a healthy, safe cooking experience. Our Place is a mission driven female founded brand that makes beautiful kitchen products that are healthy and sustainable. And it's not just cookware, it's also appliances which are also fantastic and look beautiful. So you can actually leave them out on your counter and they're going to look nice. You don't have to, you know, take up up space in your cabinets with them. I really can't say enough how much I truly love this brand. I'm so excited to be working with them and I think if you try them out you're gonna see why I love them so much. Our place has 75000 five star reviews on their award winning products and they've been mentioned in New York Times, Bon Appetit and more. So upgrade to Our Place today and say goodbye to Forever Chemicals in your kitchen. Go to from our place.com and enter my code TCKR at checkout to receive 10 off site wide. That's from our place.com code TCKR. Our place offers a day trial with free shipping and returns. So the officers continue to look for Sarah, and their next attempt was to go to another house to look for Sarah. Now, how they made the connection to this house is a little bit unclear, but they somehow figured out that Sarah was really close friends with a guy named Liam McAtasney. And when they get to the house, they realize that it's actually Liam's mom's house, and he no longer lives there. But she was able to point them in his direction.

[Liam McAtasney]

Is Liam home? What was that? 1100 Street? Oh, he's staying over there. Now, we're looking for a friend of his that that's possibly a missing person, and she supposedly hangs out with him. Is he Sarah Stern? Does he hang out with her? He's at 12 Holly, 11 Holland Street. 11 Holly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. Can you call Liam, if you don't mind?

[Kendall Ray]

Now, Liam and Sarah had been friends since grade school, and they had always been really close. They really bonded over their love. Video games and comic books as well. They just had a lot of similar interests. And then during freshman year of high school, Liam became friends with another student, Preston Taylor. And over time, the three of them became sort of a group. They actually called themselves the squad. And if it gives you any idea of just how close they were, Preston actually took Sarah to junior prom. And from what I can tell, the three of them continued to stay close after graduation. Liam and Preston actually lived together in a house that was owned by Liam's parents, and it was actually only a block or two from where Sarah lived. So in the midst of what is going on, officers think maybe there's a chance that Sarah is over at this house that Liam and Preston live in together. And just as they're about to leave Liam's mom's house, a neighbor comes outside and tells them some interesting information. It turns out that the day before December 2, Sarah had texted this neighbor asking if she could bring a bin over of her mother's belongings. Now, this neighbor, Ms. Draper, wasn't home, but she had told Sarah that it was fine and that she could stop by and drop it off. She also mentioned to officers that Sarah might have been depressed. And whether or not that was true, it was important information at the time while they tried to determine what happened.

[Liam McAtasney]

So she brought a bin of stuff of her Mother's to your house taped over, and it's in my kitchen. I was out. I said, yes, yes, I'll put it in a cubby. And I tried texting her and nothing. That's my next question. Is she depressed? Is she. I think she's. Is she not suicidal anyway, do you think? I don't know.

[Kendall Ray]

And obviously, officers had to consider the idea that maybe she really did take her own life that night. I mean, it kind of looked that way, especially with this neighbor now telling them that she was depressed and her car is found abandoned on the bridge, keys still in the ignition. It didn't look good. And over the years, through all the cases that I've covered, I've seen so many instances where officers lock in on that theory way too soon. They put blinders on and they think, okay, this person took their own life, and that's the only thing they want to focus on, sort of taking the easy way out. Luckily, that was not the case here. It was definitely in the back of their minds because it certainly did look like a possibility. But they continued to search for Sarah or at the very least, try to figure out where she may have possibly gone. And even though it was 4am Liam's house was next on their list.

[Liam McAtasney]

Liam, you. Liam, you got a second? Can I come in and talk to you real quick? Yeah, no problem. Officer. Is Sarah here by chance?

[Kendall Ray]

No.

[Liam McAtasney]

When was the last time you talked to her? I was with her today. What time? Before I went to work. So it was earlier today? Yeah. When was the last time you had any kind of contact at all with her? Turn some light on, if you don't mind. I mean, we went to get food today. And you went to work at what time? 4:30. Okay, so you haven't talked to her since 4:30? You have a cell phone you can reach out to her on? I actually haven't been able to find my cell phone. Any idea where it's at all that.

[Kendall Ray]

He then goes on to say something that would end up being critical in this case. And it's something that you are going to hear repeated a few times throughout this episode, and that is that Sarah wanted to get away from her crazy dad and move to Canada. Take a listen.

[Liam McAtasney]

What was her mindset last time you talked to her? I just know she's been trying to get away and tell me she's going to Canada. Trying to get away. Okay, Canada. She's been real depressed lately. Her dad is crazy. Okay. And then she's dealing with the loss of her mother, Dad's in Florida right now, right? Her dad? Yeah.

[Kendall Ray]

So right there, what you just heard is Liam setting the scene, planting the seed, trying to build a storyline. The idea that Sarah was depressed, that she and her dad had a terrible relationship, and that she wanted to run away to Canada. Now, the Canada bit of the story is true. Sarah had visited Canada once, Absolutely loved it. And it was no secret that she wanted to move there one day. She had told several friends and family members, and her dad said that she was very intent on going there one day and that he was in full support of her making that move as long as she got a job or did some type of study abroad program. But according to Liam, Sarah wanted to go there to escape this so called terrible life that she was living. And so between what that neighbor said about her being depressed and what Liam is telling them about her, you know, having this miserable life, hating her dad, wanting to get away, a theory is beginning to form. Two theories, actually. One being that maybe she really did jump, or the other being that maybe she ran away. And by this point, nothing is pointing to foul play, and they definitely didn't take that off the table. But these other two theories seemed pretty likely given the information that they had. But without knowing anything for sure, these search efforts continued. Soon after Sarah went missing, a $5,000 reward was posted, and the community effort to find her really kicked into full gear. And people just absolutely came out in huge numbers to support their family. They walked through neighborhoods and knocked on doors, and boat crews even went out onto Shark river in search of a body. But a big concern, though, was the fact that Shark river feeds into the Atlantic Ocean. So if she was really in the water, the likelihood that she was swept out to sea was not only possible, but, honestly, probable. Now, meanwhile, on that first day, Liam ended up speaking with authorities for a second time. And since he was the last person to see Sarah, he became a crucial part of the investigation. And much like the first conversation, officers wanted to try to confirm the timeline of his and Sarah's day together, as well as get a better understanding of her recent mindset.

[Liam McAtasney]

Yeah, between one and two, we went to Taco Bell. Let me say, did you have your phone around then? I did, actually. Yeah. It was. It wasn't until I went to work that I realized I didn't have it on me. I went to the neighbor's house. At one point, I. I couldn't even tell you what time that was, but. Which neighbor? The Drapers.

[Kendall Ray]

Were you with her when you went over there?

[Liam McAtasney]

Yeah, she Was with you. We had. She had a bunch of stuff. I know that we had. We had one big gray container and I actually have a few of these in my basement right now. Of hers. Of hers? Yeah, if you guys want to go through those. She. She's just been trying to get stuff out of the house, away from her dad. What's her reasoning for wanting to get the stuff out of her father? I mean, I know that her dad's taken money from her in the past. I think her mom was supposed to leave her money or something. I know she definitely has a lot of trust issues with her dad. What's going on with her?

[Kendall Ray]

Like, how's she been acting lately? The same. Different. Liam, you've known her for. Since first grade, you said?

[Liam McAtasney]

Yeah.

[Kendall Ray]

Has she been different than normal lately? Well, and for how long?

[Liam McAtasney]

In the past she has had a tendency to have self destructive, suicidal behavior. I actually know. How long ago? Years ago. And what was it that she would be?

[Kendall Ray]

Self destructive and suicidal.

[Liam McAtasney]

Sorry. It was over, Stefan. On you? Over something her dad did. I'm not too sure because it was. I think it was my freshman year, sophomore year of high school. I'm in my second year of college right now. Four or five years ago. But I remember being with my girlfriend. She was completely obsessed with my girlfriend. And something happened with her dad. My girlfriend had to leave to go take care of her because she was saying, if you don't come here right now, I'm going to kill myself. Taco Bell first, then to the Drapers. And then you left. Then to her house, then to her house, hung out. I left. What time was that? Around 4:45. 45? Yeah. And then you worked for him. I worked until 10:00. Oh God. I was supposed to work until midnight, but I got off at 10 o'clock. And you just came back here? Yeah, I went back there. Who was with you? My roommate.

[Kendall Ray]

So, like, you just heard? Liam pretty much said the same thing he said earlier that morning, but this time he went into more detail. Not just about Sarah and her dad or Sarah and her mental health, but also about their movements that day, which, according to Liam, was going to Taco Bell, dropping the bin off at the neighbor's house, then returning to Sarah's house where they hung out until he went to work sometime around 4:45pm now, this conversation went on a lot longer, but overall the gist was the same. But this time officers were really like, listen, dude, we've got a lot of manpower out looking for Sarah, and if you know something you need to tell us, but Liam seems like he is equally as concerned and has no information to give them. So the conversation ends there and the search continues. The start of a new year is the perfect time to get organized, to set goals, and to prioritize what matters most. And of course one thing on the top of all of our minds is financial wellness. And I'm sure you heard me say how much I love Rocket Money. We have been using it for years in our family, long before they started sponsoring us and we seriously love it so much. Just recently it came in handy for us because my husband had actually accidentally fallen for a phishing scam on his email and it was because of Rocket Money that we found out he got alerted that there was fraudulent activity on our account. We were able shut everything down. But to me, one of the best features about Rocket Money is its ability to alert you about your subscriptions and help you cancel the ones that you don't need anymore or that maybe you forgot about. Before I started using Rocket Money, I had no idea how many subscriptions I had and when I found out I was pretty shocked. I always knew that I probably had subscriptions that I didn't even use, but I didn't want to deal with it because I hate dealing with customer service. It totally stresses me out. And the fact that Rocket Money can just take care of that for you is worth everything to me. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you to lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. You can see all of your subscriptions in one place, know exactly where your money is going, and for the ones that you don't want anymore, Rocket Money can help you cancel them. Rocket Money's dashboard gives you a clear view of your expenses across all of your accounts. You can easily create a personalized budget with custom categories to help you keep that spending on track. You can see your monthly spending trends in every category to know exactly where your money is going and get alerts if bills increase in price, if there's unusual spending activity or you're close to going over budget. One feature that I love is the alert that lets you know when you have a bill coming up so that you never miss one of your bills. And Rocket Money will even try to negotiate to lower your bills for you. You heard that right. They automatically scan your bills and find opportunities to save and then you can ask them to negotiate for you and they deal with the customer service that you don't have to. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of 500 million in canceled subscriptions. Pretty mind blowing, saving its members up to 740 a year when using all of the apps premium features. So cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to Rocket Money.com Kendall Ray today that's Rocket Money.com Kendall Ray once again, Rocket Money.com Kendall Ray so that brings us to December 4th and by this point the Monmonth County Prosecutor's Office and New Jersey State Police join in on the search effort, joining the US Coast Guard and other local law enforcement agencies. So yeah, a lot of manpower and days later another massive civilian search effort took place where friends, family and community members did everything they could to try and locate her, including Liam McAtasney and his roommate Preston Taylor, who I mentioned earlier, both good friends of Sarah's. And during these searches, Liam and Preston both did interviews on the local media talking about how badly they wanted to find their friend, how concerned they are trying to rally other people to help, things like that. And their cooperation and overall concern is really interesting, especially when it comes from Liam. It seemed like he really wanted to help and he even agreed to come into the station again for questioning and this time it was on December 6th.

[Liam McAtasney]

So we appreciate him coming down and talk to us. Obviously we're very concerned about Sarah. Do you live with Liam? I live with my roommate Preston. Preston, you friends with Sarah also? Yeah. Yes. Yeah, we all went to high school together. Was she ever your girlfriend? No. We actually have reason to believe that she could be a lesbian. She has been known to obsess over girls in the patch though. One of my ex girlfriends a few years ago, she was completely obsessed with her. She just would always say stuff like, maggie, if you don't come here right now, I'm going to kill myself. Or there have been multiple occasions where my ex girlfriend Maggie has had to go to the Draper's house to help her with either her dad. I can't play for sure if her dad was going to do something, but there has been a few occasions where she said my dad's going to hurt me or I'm going to hurt myself. In the past I can't say that anything's ever gotten by him, but I know that there's a lot of fighting all the time. This is constant fighting between her and her father. What about school? Last year she did a full year of school and this year she hasn't even registered for classes. NATO why Canada I guess she's just insane. She can't get away, go to Canada, get away from my dad. Do you think her behavior was odd? Yeah, I didn't think it at first, but she's always wanted to go to Canada. She's always been obsessed with Canada.

[Kendall Ray]

So again with the seeds. He just keeps on planting them and eventually he talks about the last time that he saw Sarah. So here's that.

[Liam McAtasney]

Do this. Let's start. Start the day on Friday. Okay. What did you do when you woke up on Friday? Slept in. Till what time? Noon. Okay. What I do, you get up, did some dishes, clean up the house. Then I called her initially, asked her if she wanted to get some food. She said she had to. What time did you hook up with sir? Sometime between the 1 and 2 o'clock. I went over, I helped her. Did you go to eat? Not yet. We did go to eat, but we initially wrapped up all of her stuff, put in the containers, and then went across the street to the Drapers. When Sarah and I talked about. You eat there? No, we went back to her house. Did you stay there the whole time after you went back to her house? Yeah, we actually went up into her room, played some video games. We were playing the video games. We might have went downstairs and then I left. Did she talk to you about wanting to leave? She had that day. What did she say? She just said that her dad was still at home. She. She had to get the stuff out and she just needed to get to Canada. I didn't think she would actually go through it, this whole Canada thing, just trying to escape the situation she was in, I guess, except her dad.

[Kendall Ray]

Now, shortly after this, the two detectives briefly left the room, and when they came back in, they jumped right into a line of questioning about information they KN knew Liam had been withholding. And before I play that clip, I need to give some context. And this next bit is one of the most crucial components of this case. So listen carefully. A few months before Sarah went missing, she was at their family's second home, which was in Avon by the Sea, New Jersey. And while she was there, she ends up coming across a shoebox filled with cash in the house. Like, a lot of cash. I don't have the exact number, but it was in the thousands upon thousands. So a lot of money for a young girl to come across, surprisingly, in this shoebox. But the thing is, though, the money was in pretty terrible condition. Not only was it old currency, in terms of the way the bills actually looked, but a lot of them were Broken and brittle. Definitely the kind of money that would have been flagged if someone had tried to use it. And that's not to say that she couldn't use it, but, you know, it was questionable for sure. Now, as for where the money came from, it turns out that her mom had left it for her, so it was hers to take. But she was cautioned by other family members not to tell anyone about it. And of course, that's good advice. And I'm guessing that was mainly because they felt that, you know, when you come into a lot of money, people get greedy and can do some weird things. However, Sarah didn't listen to that advice. Of course, she's young, and she ends up telling a couple people that she thought she could trust close friends about this money. To be clear, she wasn't just going around telling tons of people about it. But, yeah, there were a few people that she told, and Liam was one of those people. But what she didn't know is that Liam then went and ran his mouth and told a bunch of people about this money. And he told people, these were his actual words, that it's the type of money that someone would kill for. Literally, those are his exact words. Anyway, this money ends up going into a safety deposit box in a local bank. And after Sarah went missing, investigators found out about it. So they end up getting search warrants for the surveillance footage at the bank, as well as for the safety deposit box itself. And what they found made them rethink everything, because it turns out that Sarah had gone to the bank on the exact day that she went missing. And of course, that is something that Liam had left out. And even though she did pull some of the money out that day, there was still $25,000 left in the safety deposit box. And what 19 year old is going to run away to Canada and not take every penny that she has? Why would she leave behind $25,000, even if it wasn't in great condition? And obviously it's because she didn't run away. And officers were now starting to realize that. And keep in mind, it had only been three days by this point since Sarah had went missing. And there was no evidence to suggest that Sarah actually ran away to Canada. In fact, during a search of her home, investigators ended up finding her passport and Social Security card, as well as US And Canadian currency, clearly indicating that Sarah never left New Jersey. Which now leaves them with two main theories. Either she took her own life, or someone took it from her. And not that a short video from surveillance footage can Tell you that much about someone's mental state. But when investigators reviewed the footage, Sarah seemed to have been in good spirits that day. She was smiling, she waved at the bank teller, and she just didn't look like a person who was on the verge of ending her life. But they still didn't take that theory off the table, because quite frankly, they couldn't take anything off the table at this point. At least not without more evidence. So they kept searching for answers. Which brings me back to Liam's interview. When the two detectives came back into the room after stepping away, they ask Liam why he never told them about their trip to the bank. Seems like a big detail, because based on the time that Sarah went there on the second, they knew Liam would have been with her. And here is his response.

[Liam McAtasney]

You haven't told us about the bank. Yeah. How can he ever told us about the bank? Did you go to the bank? I was with her. Okay. That's the way back to Taco Bell then. What did she do with the bank? No idea. I didn't go in. Stayed in the car. Yeah. Why didn't you stop at the bike? Why did she tell you she would stop at the bank? Something to do with her money. I don't know. She had found money in that one house a few months ago, and she has a locked box full of money. I don't know. She was taking money out, putting money in there. A lockbox. Cool. Money where? And Carney bank. How do you know? She's told me. How much money? I couldn't tell you. She never told me. She told me it ranged. She said it could be from 20 grand to 100 grand. She wasn't sure.

[Kendall Ray]

So clearly he's playing down the whole bank thing pretty significantly. And also his knowledge about the money. I mean, he did admit to knowing about it, but he made it seem like he knew very little. And truth be told, they don't end up pressing him too much about it at this point. Even though know him neglecting to tell them that information is a pretty big red flag. And another massive red flag was that at one point, Liam asked them, quote, if she did jump off the bridge, what are the odds that she's not somewhere all the way out in the ocean by now? What kind of question even is that? I mean, he's not asking anything out of concern for his friend. Like, what are you doing to look for her? Have you looked into X, Y and Z? None of that. He specifically wants to know what the chances are that her body will be found. If it's actually in the water now, you're actually going to hear me say later that he wanted her body to be found, but I'll explain that when I get there. But that interview ended up being around two hours long, and it was only stopped because both Liam's mom and dad independently called an attorney, which isn't shocking. Of course his parents are going to call attorneys and any good attorney is going to tell you not to talk to the police. So. So that was the end of that. Well, I should say that that was the end of that for that day because that definitely was not the end. They had a lot more questions for Liam. Personally, I love the holidays, but I won't lie, it totally stresses me out. I've become a very type A person and I have a lot of people in my life that I love and I'm very fortunate for that. But shopping for everyone on my list can be overwhelming. And if you feel overwhelmed too, can I recommend a good gift for a loved one in your Skims has launched their holiday shop. It's a great destination for gifts. You can never go wrong getting someone something cozy and comfortable, especially around this time of year. I have been living in my soft lounge sleep set from Skims. I have it in red so I feel extra festive and it's so comfortable. The material keeps me warm, but also during the night when I start to heat up, I don't ever get that hot in them. I bought my mom a pair this year. I know she's going to love them and it's going to be fun for the two of us to be matching. What I love about Skims too is a lot of their loungewear you can totally wear out of the house without looking like you're walking around in pajamas. Also, the quality is excellent. They hold up really well in the wash. Another great idea is their cozy robe. I have mine in black so that I can get ready in it without worrying about getting it dirty. And it's so comfortable and snuggly. It has that really buttery soft material and I've washed mine several times now and the material has held up so well. So check out Skims for yourself. You can shop the Skims holiday [e-mail] available in sizes for women, men, kids, and even pets. And if you haven't, be sure to let them know that I sent you. After you place your order, select Podcast in the survey and select my show in the dropdown menu that follows. But rather than bringing Liam back in, they decide to bring in his roommate Preston. So the next day, Preston was brought in to answer some questions. And truth be told, there weren't any inconsistencies in his story compared to Liam's. But one thing that's important to know about Preston's interviews is that he seemed to really try to distance himself from Sarah as much as possible. He called her a mutual friend, which definitely contradicts some of the stories about their friendship.

[Liam McAtasney]

Did you socialize with Sarah? Did you talk to her on a regular basis or not on a regular basis? When we hung out, like when everyone all got together and talked to her, but that was really it. We didn't really speak too much. Okay. It's more just if you saw her out, you guys. More like mutual friends.

[Kendall Ray]

He then goes on and talks about his movements that day and also provides an alibi for Liam, which was that he saw Liam right before he. He. Preston went to work when Liam came home and tried to find his phone. And after work as well, when he came home and the two of them got drunk and played video games. And at one point, they go ahead and just ask Preston what he thinks happened to Sarah, and he says that he thinks she jumped.

[Liam McAtasney]

What do you think? Said she jumped. Okay. Why jump? Some stories I've heard about what they saw. Sarah, dad.

[Kendall Ray]

And so right there in that moment, Preston is trying to do exactly what Liam is trying to do. Plant that seed that Sarah wanted to take her own life because of her father. Now, his interview was also around two hours long, and while he didn't say anything overtly incriminating, the detectives walked away from it feeling like something was off. So once again, it was back to trying to find Sarah. Not that searches had stopped, but you know what I'm saying. Throughout December and early January, the search for Sarah and the search for answers continued. And her loved ones were met with disappointment with every day that passed. But hope wasn't lost, because just a few weeks later, investigators caught a major break in the case. In January of 2017, seven weeks after Sarah disappeared, a former classmate of hers named Anthony Curry came forward, and what he had say shook this case wide open. So it turns out Anthony had become friends with Liam their junior year of high school, and the two of them had sort of bonded over their love of film. Anthony is an aspiring film director, so he was always working on projects, and Liam would sometimes get involved. And on Thanksgiving Day of 2016, just about a week before Sarah went missing, Liam came to Anthony with an idea for a movie. And this next bit blew my mind. And you guys aren't even ready for this. Okay? Liam tells Anthony that he has this great idea for a movie plot. He has this idea about killing a girl, specifically strangling her, and then throwing her over a bridge with the help of a friend. And that's his great idea for a movie. Okay? And Anthony hears this and is like, okay, dude, what the are you talking about? He said that he had no intention of making a movie out of this. Was like. Like, this is so weird. I don't even know how to respond to it. And he actually had just forgotten about it. But then when Sarah went missing, Anthony had heard about it, and it took him a few weeks to remember back to that conversation. All of a sudden, it dawned on him. That was a really weird conversation that I had with Liam. Hmm. It took a few weeks to click in his mind, but once it did, he was like, oh, my God, I need to tell authorities about this immediately. And as all of this is going on, Liam ends up Snapchatting Anthony and casually just asks him if the cops have asked him to come in yet. So when Anthony does go in to speak with authorities, he tells them that the messages sounded like Liam was worried that the cops were going to find out about something. And that is actually the point where he made the connection between that movie plot and what was actively going on with Sarah. And I'm so glad that he was able to make this connection and didn't just take the route of, oh, I don't want to get involved in this. He really did the right thing here, and he was very smart about how he did it, because if you're not familiar with Snapchat, and to be honest, I haven't used Snapchat in forever, but I do know that when I used to use it and back when they were using this in 2016, 2017, when a Snapchat comes in, it's meant to be temporarily seen. I don't know if you can revert back to the messages, but, you know, it disappears at least if it a photo message. But he also knew that if you take a screenshot of a Snapchat, it alerts the person that you took that screenshot. So he was smart enough to realize, okay, he can't know that I'm documenting this. So he gets the idea to grab his digital camera and he takes a photo of his phone so that he has this evidence and he brings it in to detectives. And by doing that, he ended up being a significant part of this case because. Because he allowed for detectives to make not one, but two arrests. And Anthony's help doesn't stop there, because on January 31st, he ends up participating in a sting operation that involved him meeting up with Liam to see if he would confess to what investigators now believe he did. And Liam, clearly not the brightest of bulbs, he agrees to meet up with him. He takes the bait. So to kick off the sting operation, Anthony messages Liam via Snapchat, and he tells him, hey, man, I was working on some type of set and my camera broke. He tells him he, like, dropped it into a bucket of fake blood, like stage blood or whatever, prop blood, and that he's all bummed he needs to get a new camera and asks him for some money for the new camera. So they talk back and forth for a while, and then the conversation ends with them agreeing to meet up in person. And by this point, investigators believe that Liam had not only murdered Sarah. Sarah. But that he had done so in order to obtain all of that money that she had found a few months earlier. Now, I do have some footage available that I can play for you guys from the sting operation of the confession. However, I'm only going to be playing certain parts of it. There's a lot of it that's really disturbing and. Yeah, I mean, it just. It horrified me, honestly, to listen to it, and it feels like it's not helpful or necessary to share a lot of that. Of course. Course, you can look it up on your own, but, yeah, I'm only going to be playing what's necessary to understand the case.

[Liam McAtasney]

Good money. What's happening, buddy? Don't. How you doing? You can't blame me for doing this, right? I gotta feel you up real quick. All right? No disrespect. I'll show you no disrespect. Okay. Nothing. Yeah, I got the FBI on my ass, dude. What are they questioning? Oh, yeah, a lot. About what? About killing Sarah. They've been. They were up my ass. First. It was just normal police. They were on my ass, and I had to go in and get interrogated by them multiple times. But then it kept moving up levels, and now it's a federal case. Then got the FBA guy. So you've been laying low, I guess. Oh, yeah. And not even. That's not even the worst part. The worst part of it is I thought I was walking out 50 grand, 100 grand in my pocket. She had one safe, and she took money out, and she only had 10 grand. And this money, I don't know if it was burnt or something. It's Old money, terrible quality. I don't even know if I can put any of it in the fucking bank. Right, because it'll probably. Probably look sketchy. Right? Looks sketchy. And it'll look like it's Sarah's money. Especially if it's a federal investigation. What? So what, do you have it hidden? Yeah. Where'd you hide. It's a gummy hook. First he was in my house for a long time, but then I stopped trusting Preston. Yeah. What's the deal with crap Preston? Was he. No, he's cool. He was. Did he end up, like, helping me? Oh, yeah. I had planned Sarah's situation for me to be interrogated by cops. Like that was whole part of my plan to make me look not guilty. Like, did you still. You didn't hear them? It was all over the news. Right, but I didn't know if you like, what's the. Yeah. And the worst part is we threw her off the bridge and the body never showed up.

[Kendall Ray]

So just imagine how Anthony is feeling when Liam is feeling him up essentially for this wire. He's gotta be bricks. And the detectives who worked on this case said that even, you know, in that moment, they were like, oh my God, this could, this could get bad. Of course they were nearby in case anything happened, but. But they were very worried. And really, again, hats off to Anthony because he was very brave to do that. After I gave birth to my daughter, I was very stressed out when it came to my hair. During my pregnancy, my hair was so thick and healthy and growing like crazy. And after I gave birth, it was shedding like crazy and thinned out so much. So I started doing research into products that would help. And I actually found neutrophil on my own. And wow, wow, what a difference it has made in my hair. I've been taking it ever since. After I first gave birth, I was on their postpartum formula and now I'm on their women's formula. And it helps my hair. And it has just made such a difference for my hair. Hair thinning affects nearly half of all women. And this holiday season, if you're searching for a thoughtful, unique gift, consider neutrophil. For the special people in your life who may be experiencing hair thinning, It's a meaningful way to show that you care about their well being and confidence. Neutrophil is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over 1 million people. You can see, see thicker, stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding in just three to six months. I Saw the difference in probably about six months, I'd say. Now everyone's root cause of hair thinning are different. So a one size fits all approach to hair growth just doesn't cut it. So Neutrophil has multiple formulas that are tailored to give your hair exactly what it's going to need to grow throughout different stages such as postpartum menopause, as well as for different lifestyles such as plant based diets. Physician formulated with 100 drug free ingredients. Nutrival supplements support healthy hair growth from within by targeting root causes of hair thinning, including stress, stress hormones, aging, nutrition, lifestyle and metabolism as they evolve throughout a woman's life. So whether you're gifting to yourself, which you deserve it, or to a loved one, give the gift of great hair growth this holiday season. Right now, Neutrophil is offering my listeners $10 off any order and free shipping. When you subscribe, go to neutropol.com and enter promo code Kendall Ray Gift. That's neutrophil.com spelled n u t r a f o l.com promo code Kendall Ray Gift. Once again, neutral.com promo code Kendall Ray Gift. Gift. So the next part of the confession tape I have decided to not include in this episode again because it's so horrible that I just don't feel it's necessary to play. But I'm going to explain it to you. So he says that after going to the bank and coming home to count the money, that's when he strangled Sarah. This part genuinely just made me want to throw up. But he mentions how her dog watched the entire time it happened. He also talks about how the dog didn't do anything, didn't bark, didn't try to help her, saying that the dog is a bad dog. It was just. It was so vile and like inhuman to hear someone speak that way. And this was also just so disturbing to hear. But he talked about how he had set a timer on his phone to see how long it took for him to kill her. I mean, what kind of sicko either even thinks to do something like that? Thinks in advance, Okay, I want to see how long this takes me. It's just, it's so bizarre. Really gives you a glimpse into the dark, twisted mind of Liam. He also tells Anthony that after he killed her, he had to leave for work, which is when he realized that he lost his phone.

[Liam McAtasney]

So I have to leave. I dropped my phone at Sarah's house. My phone was at Sarah's house. Like when you left your phone? Yeah, I Lost it. I couldn't find it. I had to go to work. I had timed everything out so that. What did you. Why did you take your phone? You should have left it in your pocket, dude. I couldn't find it, dude. It ended up being out in the driveway. Oh, it must have dropped at you. I must have dropped when I was crawling to the. Get in the car.

[Kendall Ray]

I think what's so disturbing about these clips from his confession is. Is just how nonchalant he is. He's so casual, has no emotion as he's talking about murdering someone he was friends with for a long time. An innocent girl who did absolutely nothing to deserve this. And it seems like he is trying to show off to Anthony, like he's proud of what he's done. It's just. It's sick. It's so hard to wrap your mind around how people can act this way. And this happens a lot in true crime. We see people. People speak about what they do in this casual way that is just so, so disturbing. But anyway, he then goes on to explain how Preston fits into all of this, which was moving her body after he went to work.

[Liam McAtasney]

And then I had to go straight to work. So Preston came over, took the body, put it in the bushes.

[Kendall Ray]

Now, this next clip, I want to warn you, it's not easy to listen to, but it's basically Liam talking about what they did after he got off work and what he said. Their plan was, was Preston, I go.

[Liam McAtasney]

Over to her house, take her safe, bring that over to my house before we do anything. Then we take her body out of the bushes and drag it over to her back fence, and I crawl, get into her car, and I back up. She had. There's a security camera across the street, so I had to back. I had to act like her. I watched her. Every time she backed out, she does the same thing. So I backed out exactly like she did. My plan was for me. I underestimated my own strength and how much a dead body would weigh. Because it's lint. It's lint weight. Yeah. I got up on top of the bridge to throw her off. My. My plan was I was going to throw her off, run over, jump over the divider, and get into Preston's car.

[Kendall Ray]

So I want to cut it off there because it's. Again, it's just not helpful to share. But he essentially goes on to say that because he couldn't lift her, his own Preston circled around to the same side of the bridge he was on, and they threw her over the Edge together. And it got even more graphic after that. And I truly can't even find the words to say to describe what a sick monster Liam is. I mean, this sick clearly didn't even feel bad about what he did at all.

[Liam McAtasney]

This. This is the thing about, like, heists. There's so much that you can't account for for. You don't know. Yeah, you don't know until it happens. I planned this thing out for, like, six months, and I didn't get a lot of money, but I had enough money to just be, like, living comfortably in my house, tripping, throwing parties all the time. I don't feel any different, and I don't think about it. You always think you're going to try these new things and you're gonna change, but it didn't change. It just doesn't do anything.

[Kendall Ray]

So, yeah, overall, just very heavy, disturbing footage, and I really don't have anything else to say about that. Liam is disgusting, and I need to just move on now. But luckily, what's next is good news, at least comparatively, I guess, and that's that. The following day, February 1st, the first of two arrests were made. Now, surprisingly, investigators actually started with Preston, and Preston turned on Liam so fast and just spilled absolutely everything. You guys heard most of it through the confession tapes or the parts of it that I did play, but there are a few more gaps that I need to fill in. So, according to Preston, he had known about the plan to kill Sarah for several months. However, it originally started as a plan to rob her, but for whatever twisted reason, Liam decided that killing her was. And I feel gross even saying this, but the better option, he said that they even had a few ideas on how to kill her, but they settled on staging it to make it look like a suicide. What they didn't account for, though, was her body washing away, because these two sickos were planning on her body showing up as confirmation or proof that she took her own life. But obviously, that didn't happen. So then Preston goes on to say that on December 2, he received a Snapchat from Liam saying that he and Sarah were on their way to the bank. And he knew that this meant that Liam was planning to go forward with the plan. And after it was done, and after Liam went to work, Preston admitted to going to Sarah's house and moving her body from the bathroom to the backyard, where he put her next to a bush and covered her in leaves. While he was there, he also helped look for Liam's phone, and he was unsuccessful in finding it. So he went home and waited for Liam to finish work. And once he got off work, Preston says that the two of them went back to Sarah's house together, where they moved her from the backyard into the passenger seat of her car. And during that trip, they also stole the safe from Sarah's house and put it in Preston's car. And you guys already heard in the confession tapes what happened after that on the bridge. Oh, and Preston also admitted that he and Liam manufactured a fake story to throw detectives off and that they purposely participated in the search efforts to make it seem like they were worried. And he even told them where he and Liam hid the money. He said that they buried Sarah's safe in Shark river park, but that they put the money, which was about $10,000, in a different safe. And that safe was buried in Sandy Hook near the lighthouse. And he ended up doing more than just confessing. Preston actually went with investigators to Sarah's house and specifically reenacted what he and Liam did. And, oh, my God, it was incredibly chilling as he explained in detail, moving her body with absolute, absolutely no emotion, just completely heartless. He also went with detectives to Belmar Bridge and once again explained what they did and how they did it.

[Liam McAtasney]

Liam had lifted Sarah's body by the shoulders and gotten her partially up onto the curb, where I then grabbed her by the legs and hoisted her up onto the railing, and then I pushed her feet over so that she was going over the rest of the way.

[Kendall Ray]

Now, Liam's arrest came next, and as you've heard, there was quite a lot of evidence against him. But it was more than just the confession tape and Preston rotting him out. They ended up finding evidence that linked him directly to Sarah's stolen money, which I'm sure you have guessed by now that that was the motive for the murder. When investigators dug up the lockbox with Sarah's money, which they did with the help of Preston, they realized that it was a sentry safe box with the number 002 on it. And they find on Liam's keychain, when they arrested him, a key for a sentry safe lockbox with the number 002 on it. Now, when he was brought in, he lawyered up right away, so they didn't even get to speak to him in any detail. But they didn't necessarily need to, because the evidence just spoke for him, including some digital evidence that I haven't even told you about yet. It actually turns out that there were two cameras pointed directly at the bridge that would have shown exactly what Happened. Happened. But big surprise, they weren't working. How often are we going to see that in these cases? Oh, my God. However, there is some good news. There was a camera on Sarah's neighbor's house that was pointing directly at her house, just so happened to have pointed in that direction. And while a lot of that footage did corroborate Liam's timeline of what he said that they did that day, a closer look at it showed something interesting. Interesting. Now, the footage was super dark, so you can't see them moving her body into the car or even who was driving when they left the house, but they could see things that corroborated Preston's version of events. At the time Preston said he was at Sarah's house, they could see headlights from a car approaching her house from the back, as well as a person walking towards the back of the home. Now, even though it wasn't super clear footage, it definitely helped them confirm what Preston was saying about coming to her house that night to move her body. And, you know, this gave them at least more confidence. It was good enough evidence that he was telling the truth. Definitely wasn't a smoking gun, but it, yeah, was good enough evidence to support his confession. Now, the real smoking gun came during his testimony. So on April 24, Preston accepted a plea deal where he would plead guilty and testify against Liam in exchange for prosecutors dropping certain charges and seeking a shorter sentence. And in the end, he pled guilty to robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, desecrating human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains, and hindering apprehension. And because of the deal, prosecutors dropped the charge of felony murder and were recommending a maximum of 20 years in prison. When it came to Liam, though, there was no deal on the table for his sorry ass. And he was facing a ton of charges, including, including murder, felony murder, robbery, desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains, tampering with evidence, and hindering apprehension. Now, his trial began on January 23, 2019, and honestly, I just need to get right into what the defense strategy was, because it may go down in history as one of the dumbest strategies I have ever heard, at least for one of their three big arguments and their strategy. And you're not even gonna fucking believe this. Was that the confession he made to Anthony, the one that was recorded in the car, was an audition tape. An audition tape. I can't even. I don't. I don't know. Unbelievable. I can't even believe professionals in this field, defense attorneys, would even try to say that I Mean, I've never heard. Well, I probably have heard things that dumb, but that is. That is up there. That is up there with some of the dumbest. Oh, my God. I think all of you can agree that that is just absurd. That is putting it lightly. It is so fucking weird that they even tried to do that. And of course, they play the confession tape to the jury. And they heard what we all heard. A confession, not an audition. Audition for what? For a movie. This. It's so weird. So their next two strategies sort of go hand in hand. But they said that because of lack of evidence, how do we know that Preston is telling the truth? Meaning without a body, how do we know who the killer really was? And that's right, you guys, this is very upsetting to say, but Sarah's body has never been found. And based on the testimony of an ocean engineering expert, they don't believe her body was going to be found. After looking at the tide and the drift and current conditions from that day, they believe that within 24 hours of being put in that water, she would have already been pulled seven miles offshore. But going back to Preston's testimony, though, the defense argued that for all we know, Preston could have done it since Liam was working that evening and Preston was home without an alibi. I mean, I don't know. I would argue that that confession tape is pretty sufficient evidence that Liam did it. But, oh, wait, I forgot, it's an audition tape. But anyway, their last argument came in the form of a witness. And this guy, his name is Craig Hetzel. And in my opinion, dude is a little out to lunch, I would say. But he testified that at around 5am on the morning of December 3, he was driving his son to work when he saw a girl walking alone down the street. He said that she would end up ducking into an alley, but not before she made eye contact with him for several seconds. Now, he swears up and down that this girl was Sarah. He is very, very confident that this was Sarah that he saw. But his story falls apart because of the timing of it, because he said that around the time he saw her, which was 5am he also saw the abandoned car on Belmar Bridge. But Sarah's car was towed hours before 5am and when he's been questioned about this, he's like, I don't know. That makes no sense to me. I know that I saw it. And blah, blah, blah. And why would anyone lie about timing of moving the car to protect Liam? It just doesn't make any sense. The prosecution is Very confident that he is either confused or could be lying. But the dude is convinced that he saw Sarah, and he has even said things like, you know, Liam could be innocent, Sarah could still be out there. And it just. It makes no sense. And honestly, it's pretty hurtful to her family. Now, as for the prosecution, I don't think I need. Need to go over all the evidence I've already shared. That's pretty much what was presented in court. But I will kind of give you the big picture, which is that Liam McAtasney intentionally and deliberately plotted Sarah's murder with the help of his friend with the sole purpose of stealing what he believed was going to be fifty to a hundred thousand dollars. After doing so, he purposely misled investigators by feeding them inaccurate statements about Sarah's mental health and her relationship with her father. Father suggesting that she took her life or fled the country. Preston was the first to take the stand for the prosecution, and once again, he walked through the explicit details of their plan, which included months of plotting and even conducting a dry run, to see how long the entire thing would take. He shared that because Sarah had discussed traveling to Canada, Liam saw an opportunity to get her to take her money out of the bank. He said that Liam basically convinced her to take the money out so that she could count it and. And start planning her trip. But when she did take it out, their plan was officially set in motion. Preston said that they considered several ways to take her life, but they decided that strangling would leave the least amount of evidence behind. He also testified that Liam told him exactly what to tell police when they inevitably came to question him. And he even said that it was part of their plan to be interrogated. Okay, dummies. Liam wanted them to be brought in so that they could paint the picture that Sarah was depressed and wanted to get away from her dad. But Sarah's relationship with her dad was nothing like they said it was. And, God, Michael, that poor man. Like, he didn't go through enough, but to also have his relationship with his daughter misconstrued like that when it was so far from the truth. I mean, they did not have a terrible relationship or any of the bullshit that Liam was spreading. And that's just such salt in the wound on top of everything else. It's just. It's heartbreaking. He himself ended up testifying, and it was very, very emotional, but very helpful in proving that his relationship with his daughter was nothing like Liam said it was. In fact, in the last conversation they had, Michael had texted her a Picture from Disney World. And she responded saying, wow, the castle looks so pretty with the lights. And that doesn't sound like a text of a daughter who is so desperate to get away from her dad. So another person that I wanted to mention and her testimony, testimony is Carly Draper. Now, she was a lifelong friend of Sarah's, and she was also her neighbor, so she was very close with her. And if you remember, it was actually the Draper's house that Sarah had dropped that box of stuff off on the day that she went missing. And when she was there, she saw Carly. And Sarah told her two important things. First, she told her about the money that she had found that her mom had left behind. And second, that she was planning on moving to Canada with Liam. Now, when it came to the money, Sarah told Carly that she was worried about how to keep it safe, considering it was a lot of cash. She also mentioned that she told others about it, including Liam. And when it came to what she said about her plans to move to Canada with him, Carly emphasized in her testimony that Sarah always had made these big plans to move and start fresh, but these were never plans that she had acted on. So she said that she didn't believe Sarah when she said that she was planning on moving, and she especially didn't believe that Sarah would take her own life. And this is such a heartbreaking detail, but when Carly found out that Sarah was missing, she was trying to DM her on Instagram, hoping that maybe she was out there and maybe she would respond to her. And she even said that if you're alive, create a fake account and follow me. Just make the name Disney or something so I know that you're okay. Carly seemed like a really great friend, if you ask me. And she actually did go to the police initially, actually, when all of this first started happening, to tell them what she knew and what Sarah had told her that day. She knew that Sarah was a trusting person, which would make her vulnerable to someone like Liam. And it was important to her that police knew that she would never have walked away from her life so abruptly. Now, the next piece of testimony I want to go over is that of Anthony Curry's. And the day that he testified in court was a really tough day because that was the day that everyone had to watch the confession tape, including Michael, who broke down, as you can imagine, when they started playing it. I mean, hearing all of that, how evil it was, I, as a parent myself, I cannot imagine having to sit through that. Michael said that when he found out it was Liam behind It all. He honestly couldn't even believe it. I mean, this was a lifelong friend of his daughter, someone that he had seen grow up, was around for birthday parties and, you know, events for school and things like that. That, and he was okay with killing her over some money. It's soulless, it's inhumane, it's pure evil. And it's the worst thing that a parent could ever have to comprehend. I don't even know how you would. But thankfully, the jury agreed. And on February 26, 2019, Liam was found guilty on all charges. And four months later, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 10 years. Preston, on the other hand, was given 18 years plus a ten thousand dollar fine, and he will be up for parole in May of 2032. And I definitely want to hear your thoughts on that. Michael says these verdicts don't bring his daughter back, and ultimately they don't make him feel better. In fact, he wishes that Liam got the death penalty, however that was abolished in the state of New Jersey in 2007. He says that he is still haunted by what happened to Sarah. And that pain just doesn't go away when someone is sentenced. And what's even more painful is that both Liam and Preston have attempted to appeal their convictions because of course they did, but thankfully, both have been denied. Now, I do know that Liam's mom definitely doesn't think her son is guilty. I'm like, okay, you saw the tape too, right? There's this interview I saw of her where she's crying, crying. I don't know. There's no tears coming out, so who knows? It's just super bizarre to me. And I understand that no parent would want to accept that your child could do something as heinous as kill another friend of theirs. But the evidence is overwhelming. To be in that much denial in the end and still stand by them, I don't know, it's pretty mind blowing to me. I definitely want to hear what you guys think. But at the end of the day, there's only one thing to really be said, and that is that Sarah did not deserve any of this. That she had a whole life ahead of her, so many people who loved her and, you know, no one will get to see what she would have ended up doing with her life or what she would have accomplished or how many other lives she would have touched because of the selfish actions of Liam and Preston as well. And I think what's most devastating about this case is for this to have been done in such a brutal way by people that she trusted, people who she considered to be her friends. They're just. There aren't words. Since her passing, her loved ones have done so much to help keep her memory alive. They actually have a certain area of the Belmar Bridge that they have decorated in her honor. And In July of 2017, they held a celebration of life at the local community center where over a thousand people gathered to celebrate her 19 beautiful years of life. And Michael says that it was amazing to see how many people came out in support of Sarah. That day was much more about celebrating her life than mourning her loss, which is exactly what he says his daughter would have wanted. Many people spoke that evening, including old teachers and friends, and everyone agreed that Sarah will be remembered for being unapologetically herself and living life with reckless optimism. I love that. And before I leave you today, I did want to share that Michael is raising money for the Sarah Lee Stern Scholarship Fund to support high school students in the arts. Art was Sarah's biggest passion in life, and giving to students like her is the best way he can think of to honor her memory. And I think it is the perfect way to honor her. So, of course, this week I will be making a donation on behalf of this show. And if you are interested in making a donation as well, I will have a link below where you can do that. It's always hard to find the words to wrap up an episode like this. I mean, really, really, it's always just hard to wrap up my episodes. But I wanted today to try and end this episode on a positive note in honor of Sarah because she seemed to be such a positive and optimistic person. And so I'll leave you with this. Sarah's high school yearbook quote. Be yourself, Be yourself from the beginning to the end of time. Don't ever be what you think other people would want you to, to be. And that is actually a quote from Grace Helbig. That is going to be it for me today. Guys, thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon. But until then, stay safe out there.

[Liam McAtasney]

Lights are going up, Snow is falling down. There's a feeling of goodwill around town. It could only mean one thing. McRib is here. People throwing parties up, ugly sweaters everywhere. Stockings hung up by the chimney with care. It could only mean one thing. McRib is here at participate at McDonald's for a limited time.

[Kendall Ray]

Hello, it is Ryan. And we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps. You know, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chump Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses. So sign up [e-mail] that's chumbacasino.com sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary.

[Liam McAtasney]

VGW Group. Void where prohibited by law. 18/ Terms and Conditions apply.

[Kendall Ray]

All right, we're all set for the party. I've trimmed the tree, hung the mistletoe, and paired all those weird shaped knives and forks with the appropriate cheeses. And I plugged in the Bartisian Bartesian. It's a home cocktail maker that makes over 60 premium cocktails, plus a whole lot of seasonal favorites too. I just got it for 50 off. So how about a Cosmopolitan or a Mistletoe margarita?

[Liam McAtasney]

I'm thirsty.

[Kendall Ray]

Watch. I just pop in a capsule, choose my strength and wow, it's beginning to.

[Liam McAtasney]

Feel more seasonal in here already.

[Kendall Ray]

If your holiday party doesn't have a bartender, then you become the bartender. Unless you've got a Bartesian. Because Bartisian crafts every cocktail perfectly and as little little as 30 seconds. And I just got it for $50 off.

[Liam McAtasney]

Tis the season to be jollier. Add some holiday flavor to every celebration with the sleek, sophisticated home cocktail maker Bartesian. Get $50 off any cocktail maker at bartesian.com cocktail that's B-A-R-T-E-S-I-A-N.com cocktail.