Jurors in the murder trial of New Jersey man Liam McAtasney saw video on Thursday in which he confessed to killing Sarah Stern and disposing of her body with the help of friend Preston Taylor. This piece of evidence comes from a video secretly taped by another friend, Anthony Curry, according to WABC.
You can see the footage above. In it, the man identified as McAtasney lays out how he killed Stern and dumped her body. The defendant says he “pretty much hung her” during this process, that she urinated on herself, said his name, and “then that was it.” It took 30 minutes to kill her, much longer than expected, he says. He says he shoved a shirt down her throat so she wouldn’t vomit, held his finger over her nose, and then set a timer waiting for her die.
“My biggest problem was the dog,” he said. “And her dog laid there, and watched as I killed her. Didn’t do anything. Her fucking dog. What kind of dog is that?”
McAtasney rejected a plea deal in the case.
Prosecutors said he killed Stern over $10,000 in cash she inherited from her mother, and tossed her body off the Belmar Bridge into the Shark River in New Jersey. In the video, the defendant says he expected the amount to be $50,000 or $100,000. He complains that the money–which Stern found in her house–was “terrible quality.” He added that he didn’t even know if he could put it in the bank, or otherwise use it because of its condition.
“It’s from the ’80s, dude,” he says. “It’s old.” He shakes his head sadly, remarking that he didn’t even get a “quarter” of the cash he originally expected.
McAtasney says he and friend Preston Taylor dumped Stern’s body off a bridge. Well, guess who testified against him last month. Taylor pleaded guilty in 2017 to charges, including disturbing or desecrating human remains, and tampering with physical evidence. He agreed to take the stand against the defendant. Prosecutors said he took part in dumping the body in return for $3,000.
Stern goes way back with the two. They reportedly all went to the same high school, and she went to junior prom with Taylor.
Investigators still haven’t found the body. In the video, McAtasney suggests that it is out in the ocean.
[Screengrab via Asbury Park Press]
