It was a cold December night in 2016 when a silver 1998 Oldsmobile 88 was found idling on the Belmar-Lake Como Bridge in New Jersey. The keys were still in the ignition. The lights were on. But the driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern, was nowhere to be seen.
At first, it looked like a tragic suicide. That's what the scene was designed to look like, anyway. For weeks, the community of Neptune City searched for her. Her father, Michael Stern, led the charge, desperate to find his only daughter. Among the most "helpful" volunteers in that search? Sarah’s childhood friends, Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor.
But as the investigation deepened, a sickening truth began to emerge. The betrayal of Sarah Stern wasn't just a sudden act of violence; it was a cold-blooded, months-long plot orchestrated by the people she trusted most.
The $10,000 Death Warrant
Sarah Stern had recently come into a bit of money. It wasn't millions, but to a 19-year-old kid in Jersey, $10,000 felt like a fortune. It was an inheritance from her mother, who had passed away from cancer years earlier.
Liam McAtasney, a guy Sarah had known since they were kids, found out about the cash. He didn't see a friend finally getting a break after losing her mom. He saw an opportunity.
Preston Taylor, who was Sarah’s junior prom date and McAtasney’s roommate, later testified that the plan had been in the works for months. McAtasney had calculated everything. He even told Taylor that the money was "worth killing someone for."
Think about that for a second. Your prom date and your close friend sitting in a room, deciding your life is worth less than the price of a used Honda.
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What Happened Inside the Stern House
On December 2, 2016, Liam went to Sarah’s house. He didn't go there to hang out. He went there to kill her.
According to his own later confession—which was caught on a hidden camera—he strangled Sarah with such force that he actually lifted her off the ground. He watched her. He looked at his watch. He waited for 30 minutes to make sure she was truly gone.
"I watched it happen," he later told a friend on tape. "I timed it."
After she was dead, the plan moved into its second phase: the cover-up. Liam called Preston Taylor. Taylor didn't call the cops. He didn't freak out. He went to the house and helped move Sarah’s body. They hid her under some bushes in the backyard, then went about their day like nothing had happened.
Later that night, they returned. They put her body in the passenger seat of her own car. They drove to the Route 35 bridge. While cars occasionally passed by, they hoisted Sarah over the railing and dropped her into the freezing waters of the Shark River.
They left the car running. They wanted the world to think Sarah had given up.
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The Secret Recording That Cracked the Case
For a while, they almost got away with it. The police were looking at it as a missing person or suicide case. But then, Liam’s ego got the better of him.
He decided to brag about the murder to an acquaintance named Anthony Curry. Curry, a filmmaker, initially thought Liam was pitching him a dark movie script. But the details were too specific. They were too real.
Curry went to the police. They wired his car with hidden cameras and told him to get Liam talking.
What they captured on that tape is some of the most chilling footage in American criminal history. Liam didn't sound remorseful. He sounded annoyed. He complained that the $10,000 he expected ended up being mostly "burnt" or old money that was hard to use. He talked about how Sarah’s dog didn't even bark while he was killing her.
Why the Jury Didn't Hesitate
When the trial finally came around in 2019, the defense tried to argue there was no body. Sarah’s remains have never been found, despite massive search efforts in the Atlantic Ocean.
But the "no body, no crime" defense doesn't work when you have a video of the killer describing the murder in high definition.
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Preston Taylor took a plea deal. He turned on his best friend and told the jury every gruesome detail of the plan. He admitted his "cut" for helping dispose of the body was a measly $3,000.
Life Without Parole
The betrayal of Sarah Stern ended in a Monmouth County courtroom. Liam McAtasney was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Preston Taylor got 18 years for his role in the robbery and the disposal of the body.
But for Michael Stern, the sentence doesn't bring his daughter back. He still doesn't have a grave to visit.
Honestly, the most terrifying part of this story isn't the murder itself. It’s the mask. Liam and Preston spent weeks after the murder comforting Michael. They stood by his side at vigils. They pretended to be grieving friends while knowing exactly where her body was.
Real-World Takeaways and Lessons
If there is anything to learn from this tragedy, it’s about the complexity of "fatal friendships." These aren't always strangers in the shadows. Sometimes, the threat is sitting right next to you on the couch.
- Financial Privacy Matters: While it sounds cynical, Sarah’s inheritance was the catalyst. Being discreet about sudden windfalls is a basic safety measure, even around "friends."
- Trust Your Gut: Anthony Curry felt something was off and took action. If a "joke" or a "script idea" feels too close to a real-life tragedy, don't ignore that instinct.
- Digital and Physical Paper Trails: The police were able to piece together the timeline through cell phone records and the bank withdrawal Sarah made right before she died.
The Sarah Stern case remains a haunting reminder of how greed can completely dissolve human empathy. It’s a story about a girl who had her whole life ahead of her, ended by the very people who were supposed to have her back.
To learn more about how law enforcement handles "no-body" homicides, you can research the work of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office archives, which frequently update on cold cases and historical convictions in the New Jersey area.