For more than 11 hours in near freezing temperatures one Saturday in December, people who loved Sarah Stern spread out across the Jersey Shore, hoping to find the missing 19-year-old.
Scores of people — from close loved ones to strangers — came out to follow up on the search efforts of a half-dozen law enforcement agencies. The crowd joined Stern’s panicked father, who hoped he’d find his only child alive.
Little did Michael Stern know that among those searching were the two men who would be charged in connection to his daughter's killing. On that day, Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor, both 19, Sarah Sarah's childhood friends, were counted among the concerned crowd.
Body of missing Icelandic woman found; death being treated as murder, which is extremely rare …show more content…
McAtasney was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery, disturbing human remains, conspiring with another to disturb human remains and hindering prosecution. Taylor, a friend of McAtasney, was charged with disturbing human remains, conspiring to disturb human remains and hindering prosecution.
"It's just unbelievable,” Michael Stern said. “Unfathomable. Deplorable. Disgusting."
Authorities now believe Sarah Stern was robbed, strangled and thrown off the bridge on Route 35 in Belmar, N.J., which spans the Shark River. Her car had been found unattended at the crest of the bridge Dec. 2, the keys still inside. Her remains haven’t been found, leaving her father unsure of how to proceed with a funeral.
Preston Taylor (left) and Liam McAtasney (right), both
Preston Taylor (left) and Liam McAtasney (right), both charged in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Stern of Neptune. (Photo: Courtesy Monmouth County Prosecutor's
Scores of people — from close loved ones to strangers — came out to follow up on the search efforts of a half-dozen law enforcement agencies. The crowd joined Stern’s panicked father, who hoped he’d find his only child alive.
Little did Michael Stern know that among those searching were the two men who would be charged in connection to his daughter's killing. On that day, Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor, both 19, Sarah Sarah's childhood friends, were counted among the concerned crowd.
Body of missing Icelandic woman found; death being treated as murder, which is extremely rare …show more content…
McAtasney was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery, disturbing human remains, conspiring with another to disturb human remains and hindering prosecution. Taylor, a friend of McAtasney, was charged with disturbing human remains, conspiring to disturb human remains and hindering prosecution.
"It's just unbelievable,” Michael Stern said. “Unfathomable. Deplorable. Disgusting."
Authorities now believe Sarah Stern was robbed, strangled and thrown off the bridge on Route 35 in Belmar, N.J., which spans the Shark River. Her car had been found unattended at the crest of the bridge Dec. 2, the keys still inside. Her remains haven’t been found, leaving her father unsure of how to proceed with a funeral.
Preston Taylor (left) and Liam McAtasney (right), both
Preston Taylor (left) and Liam McAtasney (right), both charged in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Stern of Neptune. (Photo: Courtesy Monmouth County Prosecutor's