A jury convicted a New Jersey man Tuesday of strangling a former high school classmate and throwing her body off a bridge so that he could get her inheritance money.
The panel reached its verdict a day after deliberations began in the trial of Liam McAtasney.
McAtasney was convicted of murder, robbery and other counts including desecration of human remains. He faces life in prison.
Michael Stern, the victim's father, described sitting in court and watching McAtasney express no emotion during the trial.
Liam McAtasney (seen above in Monmouth County Superior Court in New Jersey on Friday) was convicted on Tuesday of strangling his high school classmate and throwing her body off a bridge
In December 2016, McAtasney and an alleged accomplice, Preston Taylor, threw Sarah Stern's (above) body off a bridge before leaving her car there to make it look like the 19-year-old killed herself. Her body has never been found
'To think that somebody that pretended to be her friend did that to her without any remorse was painful, sad and beyond anything I've experienced before in my life,' he said.
'It was sickening.'
Jurors had asked to review a secretly recorded conversation in which McAtasney talked about Sarah Stern's death.
In the video, he described how it took her a half-hour to die and he had timed it on his phone.
The video was filmed just days before McAtasney and his alleged accomplice, Preston Taylor, were charged in 2017 with killing the 19-year-old girl.
Monmouth County prosecutors allege that the 21-year-old McAtasney strangled the 19-year-old Stern during a December 2016 robbery and then, with Taylor's help, dumped her body off the Route 35 bridge in Belmar, leaving her car on the bridge to make it appear that she killed herself.
Liam McAtasney was caught on a secretly recorded video (above) telling his friend, who was working with investigators, about how he killed 19-year-old Sarah Stern for her inheritance in New Jersey back in 2016
'I pretty much hung her,' McAtasney said to his friend Anthony Curry in the footage.
'I picked her up and had her dangling off the ground. It took me a half hour to kill her. I set a timer.'
McAtasney says in the video that he then shoved a shirt down her throat and placed his finger on her nose.
He said the biggest problem was Stern's dog but it just 'laid there and watched as I killed her.'
McAtasney went onto tell his friend that he needed Taylor's help dumping Stern's body off the Route 35 bridge because he didn't realize how heavy she would be.
Jurors were shown the disturbing video, which was caught on a hidden camera planted by police, during McAtasney's murder trial earlier this month. He is pictured in court on February 5
The conversation was filmed just days before McAtasney (left) and alleged accomplice, Preston Taylor right), were arrested and charged with the murder of 19-year-old Sarah Stern
In the video, McAtasney also talks about he thought he was going to get $100,000 by robbing Stern of her inheritance after killing her, but that he only got $8,000.
'The worst part of it is I thought I was going to come out $50,000 to a $100,000 in my pocket. She had one safe that she took money out, and she only had $10,000,' he said.
'And this money, I don't know if it was burnt or something, it's f*****g old money. Terrible quality. I don't even know if I can put any of it in the f*****g bank.'
McAtasney can also be heard telling Curry that Taylor would kill him if he snitched.
He claimed that Curry was the only person to know about Stern's death besides Taylor.
'I don't feel any different, I really don't think about it,' McAtasney said. 'You always think you're going to try all these new things and change, but it just doesn't do anything. It's weird.
Curry replied: 'It's a f****** movie, man.'
McAtasney replied: 'It's your life. You might as well make it one. What are you going to live some boring a** life?'
Curry came forward to authorities in January 2017 after his father contacted a retired officer from the Bradley Beach department.
He testified earlier this month that McAtasney first told him of his plans to strangle Stern on Thanksgiving in 2016.
At the time, he hadn't thought much of the conversation but grew worried when he learned that the woman had been reported missing on December 3, 2016.
Curry had attended high school with both Stern and McAtasney.
Both Stern and McAtasney had been in the victim's home in Avon-by-the-Sea when she found a shoebox full of cash that had belonged to her deceased mother.
'He told me he was going to meet up with Sarah, she had found this money,' Curry said in court.
'They were going to count it together. He was going to choke her, choke her out. Bring her to the bridge, throw her off and Preston was going to drive the escape vehicle. And they were going to bury the money, and leave the keys in the ignition and make it look like she killed herself.'
After Stern's disappearance, Curry said that he and McAtasney corresponded on Snapchat because of its ability to get rid of messages. Curry videotaped the contents from those messages.
Authorities said McAtasney and Taylor threw Stern's body off a bridge before leaving her car there to make it look like she killed herself. Police later found her abandoned car on the bridge (pictured above)
Alleged accomplice Preston Taylor admitted to his role in the killing and testified against McAtasney on the first day of the trial
The messages led Monmouth County Prosecutors to obtain a warrant for consensual recording.
McAtasney's attorney has argued that the video is not a confession and that McAtasney made up a story to impress his friend.
'The statement to Anthony Curry is not a confession,' Carlos Diaz-Cobo said.
'It's an elaborate lie, it's an audition. It's a script. It's not true. ... A young, immature boy decided he was going to use this unfortunate disappearance and make up this story.'
Curry admitted, during cross examination, that his friend had a tendency to share fabricated stories with him and that the two often talked about movies together.
The defense claims there is no physical evidence to support the accusations.
Stern's body has never been found.
Diaz-Cobo told jurors in his closing argument Friday that there was reasonable doubt that the victim was dead, since her body has never been found.
Diaz-Cobo also called the secretly recorded conversation an elaborate lie McAtasney told to impress the amateur horror filmmaker with whom he was conversing.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/27/new-jersey-man-found-guilty-of-murdering-childhood-friend-he-strangled-and-threw-off-a-bridge/
Main photo article A jury convicted a New Jersey man Tuesday of strangling a former high school classmate and throwing her body off a bridge so that he could get her inheritance money.
The panel reached its verdict a day after deliberations began in the trial of Liam McAtasney.
McAtasney was convicted of murder,...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/02/26/22/10330100-6749097-image-a-1_1551220158626.jpg
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