Sarah Stern's Killer Video Confession Reveals Shocking Details About Her Death

Sarah Stern was murdered by her high school friend in 2016, her body has never been found, and now, a disturbing video details the sick mind of murderer Liam McAtasney who was sentenced to life behind bars in 2019.

When The Blast first reported on the murder of Sarah Stern in March 2020, the killers had finally been found and were on their way to being sentenced.  Now, the murderer, who enlisted another high school friend Preston Taylor to help him discard Stern’s body over a bridge in Belmar, New Jersey, is on video sharing details.

Stern was 19 at the time and her body was never recovered. While family and friends were hopeful that the police would make a recovery, it was unsuccessful. A video recorded by police during McAtasney’s interview reveals a detailed, chilling confession about the young woman’s murder.

A friend of McAtasney named Anthony Curry helped police get a confession from McAtasney and one of the chilling details he revealed was it took “half an hour to kill her.” The shocking events were rehashed in an ABC 20/20 episode that featured key players in helping to find out who killed Sarah.

The college graduate went missing on Dec. 2. The next morning her car was found on a bridge and it was initially assumed that she committed suicide. In fact, that was the narrative that McAtasney and Taylor pushed on her friends and family while they were all out searching for Sarah.

Stern’s father insisted that this was not in his daughter’s nature. “It's not like Sarah at all and we just don't know. Everyone that talked to her in the days leading up to that, she seemed just fine. It's a mystery.”

The two men joined the rescue effort, always front and center and allegedly determined to find their good friends. All the while one had murdered her and the other help him get rid of her body.

The reason behind the murder is money. Stern’s mother passed away in 2013 from cancer and her life insurance was paid out to Stern, $100,000 worth. She shared this news with McAtasney and several years later he decided to cash in.

Unfortunately for him, by the time he murdered Stern and got to the money, there was only about $9,000 left. It is unsure if McAtasney found out about the change in monetary value before or after he attacked Stern but regardless, he went on to strangle her to death.

It was later found out that the murder was planned in detail months in advance with McAtasney assuming he could kill and dispose of the body himself initially.

McAstaney faced charges related to robbery and murder, and his accomplice Taylor faced charges for his role as well. On April 24, 2017, McAtsney was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree felony murder, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree disturbing or desecrating human remains, third-degree hindering, and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence.

Taylor was convicted of robbery and related charges for his role in the murder. ABC 20/20 shared clips of the chilling video in a special about Sarah Stern that aired this week.