On a cold December night in 2016, a car abandoned on New Jersey’s Belmar Bridge became the haunting symbol of a friendship twisted into unimaginable darkness. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Stern—a creative soul dreaming of a fresh start in Canada—vanished without a trace, leaving her family and community gripped by fear. But the truth behind her disappearance was far more sinister than anyone imagined.
A Friendship Shattered by Greed
Sarah Stern and Liam McAtasney had been inseparable since first grade. They grew up together in Neptune City, bonding over shared classes, family struggles, and the grief of losing Sarah’s mother to cancer. Liam was her closest confidant to outsiders—the friend who stood by her during her darkest days. But beneath this facade of loyalty festered a chilling secret.
In late 2016, Sarah discovered a hidden inheritance left by her late mother—old, weathered bills tucked away in her home. This money, she believed, was her ticket to escape a strained relationship with her father and build a new life abroad. She shared her plans with Liam, trusting him completely. What she didn’t know was that Liam saw her vulnerability as an opportunity.
The Night Everything Changed
On December 2, Sarah’s neighbor captured her on CCTV backing out of her driveway just before midnight. Hours later, her car was found abandoned on the Belmar Bridge, keys still in the ignition. Her beloved dog, Buddy, sat crated inside her unlocked home—a detail that baffled investigators. Sarah would never have left him alone.
Police initially suspected suicide. But as days turned to weeks with no body recovered from the Shark River below, doubts grew. Meanwhile, Liam played the role of the grieving friend, telling officers Sarah had been “depressed” and might have fled to Canada. His performance was convincing—until another friend, Anthony Curry, came forward with a horrifying revelation.
A Sting Operation Exposes the Truth
Anthony, an aspiring filmmaker, recalled a disturbing conversation with Liam weeks earlier. Over Thanksgiving, Liam had pitched a “movie idea” about robbing and killing a girl, then dumping her body off a bridge. When Sarah vanished under eerily similar circumstances, Anthony alerted police.
In a covert sting, Anthony recorded Liam confessing in gruesome detail: “I choked her out… It took me half an hour to kill her.” Liam’s motive? Greed. He believed Sarah’s inheritance was worth up to $100,000. With the help of his roommate, Preston Taylor, Liam strangled Sarah in her home, stole the money, and tossed her body into the river.
The Evidence That Sealed Their Fate
Without Sarah’s remains, prosecutors relied on forensic ingenuity:
- Liam’s phone: A stopwatch app revealed he timed her agonizing 30-minute struggle.
- Buried cash: Detectives unearthed degraded bills matching Sarah’s inheritance in a local park.
- Walkie-talkies: Used to coordinate dumping her body, they linked Liam and Preston to the crime.
At trial, Liam claimed his confession was “fiction”—a plot for a movie. But the jury saw through the lies. In 2019, he was sentenced to life without parole. Preston, who cooperated with authorities, received 18 years.
A Legacy of Pain and unanswered Questions
Sarah’s body has never been found. Her family clings to fragments of closure, haunted by the betrayal of someone she considered a brother. “She trusted him completely,” her father, Michael Stern, said in court. “How could he do this?”
The case exposes a devastating truth: sometimes, the monsters we fear wear the faces of those we love most.
A Silent River, A Screaming Truth
Today, the Belmar Bridge stands as a grim reminder of Sarah’s stolen future. Waves still crash beneath its steel frame, whispering secrets the river refuses to surrender. Yet through the courage of a friend and the precision of forensic science, justice pierced the darkness—proving that even the most calculated evil cannot outrun the light.
