Video Shows When Verdict Reached In Sarah Stern Murder Trial

A jury found the accused killer in the Sarah Stern murder trial guilty on Tuesday, convicting the main suspect in the Monmouth County case who had already confessed on video to stangling and throwing the 19-year-old off a Belmar bridge.

Liam McAtasney, 21, of Neptune City was found guilty on all counts of murder, robbery, desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains and hindering apprehension, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office.

First Assistant Prosecutor Lori Linskey said during a press conference after the verdict: "We could not be more proud about today's result."

Sarah Stern's father, Michael, said during the press conference: "The most important thing is to get justice for Sarah. She was a great kid and it never should have ended like this."

He also said he was sickened by McAtasney's video confession: "Apparently his evil thoughts and motives were beyond any realm I could imagine."

Here is live video of the MCPO press conference:

NBC4. video and NJ.com reported that McAtasney looked straight ahead as the verdict was read. He now faces life in prison at his sentencing May 24 at 9 a.m.

McAtasney faces life in prison without the possibility of parole since the jury agreed he killed Stern during a robbery, according to The Asbury Park Press and nj.com.

The verdict came as jury deliberations continued all day in the Sarah Stern murder Tuesday and an anxious courtroom awaited the verdict and the fate of McAtasney.

Here is what we also know:

• Until reaching a verdict, the jury had been largely silent other than reportedly asking to watch videos of the trial, including the accused killer's alleged taped confession that he killed Stern and threw her off the Belmar bridge in 2016.

• McAtasney told Judge Richard English last week that he chose “to remain silent” before closing statements were made, according to nj.com.
• Prosecutors have said they believe McAtasney, with friend Preston Taylor's help, threw Stern's body into the Shark River off the Route 35 bridge in Belmar more two years ago.
• McAtasney allegedly strangled his former classmate for $7,000 or more that he removed from her home. Taylor was accused of helping conceal Stern's body.

Related:

• Defense Rests In Sarah Stern Murder Trial
• Did Juror's 'LMAO' Comment Throw Sarah Stern Trial Into Jeopardy?
• Video Of Suspect's Alleged Confession In Sarah Stern Murder Trial
• Video Of Dad's Final Texts From Sarah Stern Before Alleged Murder
• Update On Sarah Stern Murder Trial: Testimony On Money Burial
• Updates On Sarah Stern Trial: Videos Show Dramatic Testimony

The trial was potentially thrown into jeopardy recently after a juror allegedly made a wisecrack on Facebook, according to reports. "Sitting on the jury LMAO" the female juror in the Sarah Stern murder trial reportedly posted on Facebook; the unidentified woman was then booted from the jury.

The judge – just a week after a video was released showing the suspect allegedly confessing – ultimately ruled against a mistrial request after McAtasney's attorney charged that the comment could have influenced the rest of the jury.

But the judge, according to The Asbury Park Press, did say that the juror faces possible contempt charges. Here is an Asbury Park Press video of the attorneys making the request:

The juror, who asked to be identified as a 21-year-old Middletown resident, told nj.com that the Facebook comment was made by her younger sister, with whom she shares an account. The juror said she deleted the comment as soon as she saw it.

The juror told nj.com that the trial was “taking a toll on me emotionally" and “I started having really vivid nightmares about it and I couldn’t take it anymore. It was too much.”

In the case, Taylor has pleaded guilty to seven charges, including robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, for his part in Stern's murder. Taylor also agreed to testify against McAtasney.

In the alleged confession video released earlier this month, McAtasney is apparently seen in the hidden camera videos, published by nj.com and The Asbury Park Press, telling his friend, Anthony Curry, that the "biggest problem was the dog" when the murder allegedly took place.

"Her dog laid there and watched as I killed her," he said on the nj.com video.

In the same video, McAtasney said he and Taylor worked together to dispose the body, eventually, off the Belmar bridge. McAtasney said he "had timed everything out," and that he and Taylor even had walkie-talkies.

They eventually were able to get Stern's body into a car and to the bridge, he said. "The two of us throw the body over and we're out," he said on the video that was also published by The Asbury Park Press.

The videos were released soon after another Asbury Press video showed testimony from investigators detailing how they had to scale the top of a mortar battery in the Sandy Hook area to find where Stern's stolen money was buried.

Here is the Asbury Park Press video:

Also, Michael Stern detailed how his last exchange with his daughter went before he never heard from her again. She was impressed with the photographs he sent her from Walt Disney World in Florida:

McAtasney, Taylor and Stern were all longtime friends who grew up together, according to News12, and Taylor and Stern went to their junior prom together as dates.

In an Asbury Park Press video, McAtasney said: "If she did jump off the bridge, what are the odds that she's not somewhere all the way out in the ocean by now?" (see video below).

"If she had told me that she was going to jump off the bridge, there would have been no way I would have gone to work that night," he said in the video, referring to the disappearance of Sarah Stern.