Bridge of Lies: The Trial

from 2020 in ABC Audio, Bridge of Lies. Remember, you can get new episodes early by following

“Bridge of Lies on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you're listening now.”

Now, here's the next episode of Bridge of Lies. Thanks for listening to Bridge of Lies. Listen to and follow Bridge of Lies on Amazon Music, or just ask Alexa, play the podcast Bridge of Lies on Amazon Music. Also, with Amazon Music Unlimited, you can now listen to your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks all in the Amazon Music app. It's January 2019, more than two years since Sarah Stern's car was found abandoned on the

Belmar Bridge. Liyah McItazney is now standing trial on seven charges, including first degree murder, robbery, and desecrating human remains. He could face life in prison if he's convicted.

“The wood paneled courtroom fits a little over 50 people. And today, it's packed,”

Michael Stern and Sarah's friends and family are on one side. The McItazney family, on the other. Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Megan Doyle takes the floor to give the states opening statement. Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah Stern will not be walking through those doors into this courtroom

at any point. She will never send her father another text. She will never hug him or tell him

she loves him. Her friends and family will never get to enjoy her company for smile, her laughs, or being with her. That's not because she drove to the top but there was 35th bridge in Belmar. It's not because she disappeared to Canada, created some false identity, and is living her best life. It's because this defending murder park. Doyle walks the court through the kind of evidence they should expect to see over the next few

weeks of trial, including testimony from two close friends of Liam. One she claims helped Liam plan Sarah's murder. The other she says helped police record Liam describing how he did it. But Liam's attorney Carlos Diaz Kobo urges the jury to be skeptical to question the evidence and just how little of it he argues there actually is. Trials very much are like a puzzle, crossword puzzle if you love it. And there has to be

pieces that fit in order for that puzzle to reveal itself to you. And in this case, throughout the entire trial, you will be asking yourselves, that doesn't fit. This does something's not right. Something's missing. He says there isn't enough to show Liam had anything to do with his 19-year-old friend Sarah's disappearance. Like the lack of physical evidence, he says if Sarah was harmed, why was nothing found at her house or in her car? No blood,

no urine, no fingerprints. The defense argues there isn't enough evidence to support the testimony

“the court will hear from the prosecution's key witnesses. So Diaz Kobo says that what the”

jury should expect to hear from these witnesses are lies. And if the state is evidence, it doesn't give you a complete picture and firmly convinced you that Liam's guilty. Must find it like it. Sarah's case has been a dark cloud over her family and friends, especially her father Michael. The trial will bring to light new details about the investigation

that at this point have never been heard. The prosecution says she was murdered by her childhood

friend, someone she trusted, who they say spent months planning how he'd kill her and steal her money. But the defense says that couldn't be true. Sarah wasn't dead because they have someone who says they saw her the day she went missing. From ABC Audio and 2020, this is Bridge of Lives. I'm Juju Chang. Episode 6, the trial. The first person to take the stand is Liam's old roommate.

Preston Taylor agreed to testify against Liam as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in

“exchange for lighter sentence, a maximum of 20 years in state prison. He pled guilty to six charges,”

including robbery and desecrating human remains. Now 21, he's wearing a blue suit and matching tie. His short brown hair is neatly combed back, but he's still as a five o'clock shadow. On the stand, he seems calm. Prosecutors plan to use Preston to lay the ground work for the state's case, but assistant prosecutor Chris Decker says despite the evidence this might not be an easy win. They're facing a unique challenge. We're still dealing with the case where we had not recovered

certain body. So the way I always looked at Preston is that we want to also have them here

from Preston to say, "Listen, I found her in a bathroom and she was dead. I hid her. I then helped them put her in her own car. He drove over to the bridge and then we threw her off."

“I mean, to me, there's something that was very helpful to be able to present someone who touched”

her body and could say that she was dead. The prosecution wants Preston to start at the very beginning, and for them the beginning is when Preston says he first learned that Sarah had found some money, a lot of money. Preston testifies that Liam told him about the money when they were at home, but nothing more came of it. The next time Liam mentioned the money, Preston tells the jury they were with friends at the Irish pub where he used to work. Towards the end of his shift,

as things were slowing down, Preston testifies that Liam and a couple of friends came by to hang out. "Some point on, you go sit down with them and the money comes up. Yes, you said that Mr. Magnet has to get a specific comment at that table.

“And what was that? That it was the type of money that somebody killed for.”

It was the type of money somebody would kill for. Preston testifies that he doesn't know of their friends knew about the money. Liam immediately dropped it, and Preston didn't ask any questions. After that, Preston tells the court they'd only talk about the money whenever he and Liam were alone. What a huge amount it was, and what they could do with it. Eventually, Preston tells the jury their conversations changed from daydreaming to scheming. The conversation

evolved into what if we did have that type of money specifically per money and that was one

the idea to rob her came up. He testifies that at first the plan was just to rob her.

They spent weeks planning how to do it. And then Preston tells the jury something surprising that he and Liam actually did try to rob Sarah. One month before she went missing. Well, I'm going over Sarah's house with her six-five in my apartment and then even though we were there hanging out, started drinking, and the plan was that she would be drunk. I would come in and take the money and leave.

On the witness stand, Preston says he was down the street in a getaway car with his walkie talking, waiting for Liam's signal. But that night, they found out Sarah didn't have the money in her house anymore. She'd put it in a safety deposit box at Carney Bank. So they came up with a new plan. Preston testifies that Liam was going to convince Sarah, they should plan a trip to Canada together to get her to withdraw the money. But the roommates

realized they couldn't just take Sarah's money if they wanted to get away with it. They needed to do something more drastic. They started off as a plan instead of regularize her house or to rob her personal, and over time the conversations progressed to Canada to be in order to obtain the money. Where did that idea come from? We didn't see any way that we would see it as a reminder of her robbery without everything coming back on us. Preston tells the court

that they wanted to make Sarah's death look like a suicide. When Liam and Sarah were alone, Preston testifies that the plan was for Liam to kill her and take her money. Then he and Preston would throw her body over the bell-mar bridge. He testifies that they even timed how long it would

take to drive from Sarah's house to the bridge and then go home. So about a month after the first

And a warning, his account of the murder is graphic. Does he ever more specifically tell you

“about what he did to Sarah earlier that afternoon? Yeah, he's went into detail about how he killed”

him. So he's strange who did. But it took quite a while for it to actually stop breathing kind of half hour in the process. She started throwing up, he stuffed the scarf down and thrown and all the while she says no couple times. Those horrifying details may sound familiar. They align pretty closely with what Liam told his friend Anthony Curry when they met in his car

while police were recording. As Preston walks through his version of what happened, the court

camera briefly cuts to Sarah's dad, Michael Stern. At one point, Michael looks down and closes his eyes. A few people reach over to squeeze his shoulder. It's harder to see Liam. He's just a few feet away from Preston as he testifies, but his back is toward the camera the entire time. We only catch glimpses of his face. He seems focused as his old friend lays out their darkest secrets. Preston describes to the jury what happened when they got to the bridge and threw her body over.

Where we blitz her top half up, plus her over and push her feet over. On the way down,

like there's a metal bang, we'll get back to the car. I got a job to see if you get some faster to see if you can take that. This is when the prosecution argues their mission goes from crime to cover up. Preston testifies they knew police would question them. So he and Liam

“had their stories ready to go. Remember how they both said Sarah had a bad relationship with her”

father that she was depressed and that she wanted to move to Canada to get away from him. According to Preston's testimony, that was all part of the plan. Well, there's certain things that you fold the police because he told you they had to be in close so yeah, it's on me. It's a bit of police now that they're in she had been falling out of their dad. They've been asking some arguments recently and some other things said it's just

make her look unstable. Kind of stuff that they look like she would actually relate to this happen. So Preston testifies that he and Liam mapped out every step of Sarah's murder from how they'd get her to withdraw the money from the bank to timing a practice run at the bridge. It was all calculated. But when it's time for the defense to cross examine Preston, Liam's attorney Carlos Diaz Kobo questions his credibility. He warns the jury.

Don't trust what Preston Taylor tells you. He says Preston lied to investigators when they interviewed him after Sarah's disappearance and again after his arrest. The defense questions Preston about a statement he made while in custody. Preston initially told investigators that he was sexually assaulted as a child. But when detectives said they were going to look into his allegations he took back his claim. In an interview with ABC News in 2019 Diaz Kobo said

it's strange that Preston would lie about something like that. Why would he do that? It doesn't

“make any sense. I think that when you have a 19 year old boy who's put inside an interrogation”

room until you're about to be charged with murder, I think that he panicked and didn't know what to do. In court he argues that Preston has a history of lying. The defense suggests that if Preston's lied in the past, who's to say he's telling the truth on the stand. The prosecution pushes back. They remind the jury that Preston's cooperation agreement hinges on Preston telling the truth or else he could be facing felony murder charges. Over the next couple of weeks the prosecution

calls more witnesses, Michael Stern's in the court every day, listening to things no parents should

address the claims Liam and Preston made about his relationship with his teenage daughter. Michael

is wearing a black sweater, a gray plaid shirt that's peeking through the collar. His bright blue eyes stand out, even behind his glasses. Assistant prosecutor Megan Doyle starts her questioning by asking about Sarah's mother, Carla, Michael testifies that Carla was sick for six years

“before passing away. At any point during those six years, did you worry about Sarah's well-being?”

Nope. Do you think she would murder soft at all? Nope. What about after Carla died? She had some areas of sadness, but other than that, she seemed to be okay.

Doyle asks Michael about Sarah's career ambitions. Sarah had been attending Brookdale Community

College, but later dropped out. Michael testifies that he was supportive of Sarah, pursuing YouTube as a full-time career. He knew how into social media she was, and how much she loved going to fan conventions. He also tells the court that he knew how much Sarah wanted to move to Canada. Do you have a problem with her going to Canada? Nope. Do you have a problem with her wanting to pursue this as a career? Nope. Do you have a problem with her wanting to pursue

“this as a career? Nope. To do that. Michael testifies that he and Sarah talked about how she could”

make the move. He suggested she go back to school, then transferred to a university in Canada

and get a student work visa. Sarah's ant testified a few days earlier that the goal was for Sarah to move that summer. It would give her enough time to save up, get a job, and find a place to live. It's why she was moving boxes of her things. She was getting ready for her big move. Well, she's happy sad, excited. She was happy. Sometimes she was excited about, you know, planning trips and stuff like that. At any point during this time period, were you worried about your

daughter? Nope. Do you have concerns about her well being? Nope. So there was some truth to what Liam told investigators. The prosecution wants the jury to know that Sarah did have plans

“to move to Canada because she was a 19-year-old girl with dreams of building a future there.”

She wanted to move to Canada to be an artist, not to run away from her dad. To further prove that Sarah and her dad had a strong loving relationship, prosecutors had Michael read some of their text messages. Doyle asks Michael about Thanksgiving, 2016. He and Sarah were spending the holiday separately. Sarah with her ant in Florida and Michael in New Jersey, but they were constantly texting each other. The prosecution pulls up their

text exchange from that day on the TV monitor. The messages are shown on pictures of Michael's blue iPhone. His texts show up blue, indicating Sarah's phone received them. Sarah sent Michael a message early that morning, wishing him a happy Thanksgiving and said she'd call him later. Michael reads his reply back to the court. Happy Thanksgiving, Sarah least darned. And I love you, him. There's a bunch of dark ease in the courts. Now, Ellie faces. The prosecution shows more of their messages.

Texts about watching the national dog show. A photo of Buddy, their dog. What time Michael would need to pick Sarah up from the airport? Soon after Sarah came back from Florida, Michael drove down to Disney World. Hey, did you have contact with your daughter while you were a Disney? Yes. Was there anything about your interaction with her prior to her gleaming that had you worried? No. The prosecution pulls up the last text message Sarah sent

Michael before she disappeared. She replied to the photo he'd sent her of Cinderella's castle and said, "Wow, the castle looks so pretty with the lights." Every message Michael sent after that shows up green, meaning Sarah's phone either had no service or was turned off. Over the next few hours, Michael was desperately texting Sarah. And each message got more and more frantic. Sarah, are you up? Sarah, what's going on? Then in all caps, call me as soon as you get this message.

Mr. Stirring the phone that we looked at with the pictures? Where's that phone now?

Michael was using when Sarah went missing. The one that appeared on the monitor when the prosecution

“was presenting his text messages. Did you turn that phone in when you're up pretty today? Why?”

You felt well with text and messages from Sarah? Could you have saved them? I don't know. I know people have tried to transfer things and they've lost a lot of pictures and information texts and thought texts. And when I just didn't want to take the chance. The chance that the last words his daughter sent him, the whole history of their communication could be lost in some tech issue. Doyle continues her questioning, but Michael just dares

forward. He reaches for the tissue box in front of him, removes his glasses, and wipes his eyes. Doyle asks Michael about Liam. If he ever reached out when Sarah was missing, did he ever call or check in? Did he ever ask what he could do to help find his daughter? Michael says no. And you see Liam and Quartz act? Yes. You find him out for him? Yeah.

Right there. He's a send it stable.

It's the first and only time Michael addresses Liam. He points directly at him

over the stand and Liam just steers down at the defendant's table. When he's dismissed, Michael doesn't return to his seat in the audience. He had straight to the door and leaves the courtroom as people in the audience wiped their eyes. The story of what might have happened to Sarah Stern is coming together for the jury. But both sides have yet to present their star witnesses. For the prosecution, Liam's former friend Anthony Curry, who went undercover to record him talking

about Sarah's death and the defense and eyewitness, who says he saw Sarah alive the morning after she was reported missing. We invest in our careers, our finances, and our relationships. But when was the last time you invested in your health? Want to shut that extra weight? Need more

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shall be the trick on the truth in the difficult truth?" "Yes."

“filmmaker, Jersey Shore native, and Liam's old friend. The one who got him to talk about murdering”

Sarah Stern on tape. In a lot of trials, Preston, the accomplice would be the star witness, the main attraction. But in this case, he's sharing the spotlight. Because not only will prosecutors have Anthony tell the court what Liam did, his testimony will allow them to play a recording of Liam describing in his own words what he did to Sarah. "Now you know from hastefall, were you guys friends?" "Yes." "Good friends?" "Yes." Anthony's answers are

gruff. He looks uncomfortable on the stand. He's biting his lip and tapping his foot. He's constantly reaching for the water bottle in front of him. Anthony can't seem to sit still.

“"Why are you here?" "Do you know what I'm saying?"”

On the stand, Anthony says he's doing the right thing. The last time he saw Liam was two years ago when Liam got into his car and told him

how he killed Sarah, and it was all caught on tape. At the time, the video had never been made public.

Doyle pulls out a white envelope. "I'm going to show you what's been marked as S-82. Do you recognize that?" "Yes." "What is it?" "Is it you and Vince all me?" "Right. You're out of time to state with like a rich and polite court. Is it too?" The lights in the courtroom dim and everyone's attention turns to the TV. It's the first time the footage is being played publicly, not even

“Michael Stern has seen the tape. Doyle hits play. The TV in the courtroom shows Anthony as he”

drives to meet Liam. He's blasting bad reputation by Joan Jett on the radio. Ben, the music stops. Liam gets into a car. Everyone in the courtroom hears the same shocking story investigators heard two years earlier. The same details that surprised and horrified them. How Liam wastes no time telling Anthony about how he killed Sarah that day. How he spent six months plotting her murder, how he strangled Sarah and took her money. "And how Preston helped him throw

her body over the Belmar bridge." "And the worst part is we took her out of the fridge and

her body never showed up." Michael's head is down. He's sobbing into his lap. A friend

has his arm wrapped around Michael's shoulders. About half an hour later, the video ends and the courtroom lights brightened. The prosecution hopes the video sent the jury a clear message. Liam McAtasney killed Sarah Stern. There's a lot in that video that just tells a story. Assistant Prosecutor Chris Decker and his interview with ABC News in 2019. While in this case, it's interesting that it's one of the few cases you're going to see where

you don't have Sarah Stern's body, which is obviously something that normally you would have in a homicide. But I would say, based on that video, we know more about how Sarah Stern died than we almost ever know in other cases where we have expert testimony has to cause a manner of death. But the defense has a totally different interpretation of that video. When he spoke to ABC News, Carlos Diaz Kobo said that Liam made up the story about killing Sarah to impress Anthony.

This video taped statement was made to an individual that he admired. Somebody that has engaged in the business of filmmaking. And so that's something that appealed to Liam. He wanted to be in his world, so to speak. He wanted to be a part of that filmmaking process and being in this individual's world. In his cross-examination, the defense prompts Anthony to talk about his directing career. He tells the court he's been making movies since he was eight

years old. Long before he met Liam, he now has his own production company.

over the course of your friendship? Be more than five? We know we talked about movies all the time. So, it wasn't something that was uncommon for him to bring new ideas for movies, correct?

Yep. Diaz Kobo says this isn't the first time Liam's made up larger than life stories.

He points to something Anthony told police that Liam had told stories about his father being in the Mafia. Do you remember, you're stating something to the effect that Liam told you stories about the father being in the Mafia? You can go and you know that he wasn't.

“You remember that? Yeah. So, did they make up things to you when he spoke to you, correct?”

Sure. The defense is trying to show that Liam is a storyteller. Someone who's willing to create these shocking stories to impress others. Diaz Kobo in his interview with ABC News.

He tends to make up things in order to make himself be either tougher than he is or different than

who he actually is and I think that that's something that is characteristic of Liam. And according to Diaz Kobo, beyond Liam wanting to impress his friend, there just isn't any physical evidence to prove what Liam said in that conversation was true. There's no urine whatsoever found in any area of that of the residents. There's no sign of any struggle in the house. There was no blood found in the sign of the house.

There was some testimony or part of the confession that says that at some point that she may have vomited. But that again, there's no evidence. And so that lack of evidence tells me that the false statement or false confession that he gave Anthony Curry is absolutely false. During cross-examination, he asks each investigator that takes the stand if they found any kind of physical evidence that could prove Sarah was harmed. They all said no.

And again, the biggest piece of physical evidence missing from this case is a body. Since no body was recovered, could investigators really prove that Sarah was thrown over the

“Belmar Bridge? Could anyone really be sure that Sarah was even dead?”

After four weeks of trial, the prosecution rests. Now it's the defenses turn to call up their bench of witnesses. And they start with someone who might be their star witness. Someone who the defense argues could put into question everything the courts heard so far. Yes. They say your name is though your last name for the record. Craig Kevin, that's all senior. Craig Hetzel is a contractor and a Neptune city local. He has dark gray hair and a

strong build. He says he's been a handyman working along the Jersey Shore for almost 50 years. Toward the end of 2016, he testifies that he was helping his son get to work every morning. They had a routine. Craig would hit the road by 430 a.m. pick up his son. Then had to work together.

“They cross the Belmar Bridge every day to get to the highway.”

They took their usual route. He tells the jury there are barely any cars out at that time. Occasionally, he'd see a homeless person walking around. But that morning, he says he saw someone who made him do a double take. A young woman walking down the street. I said to my son, I said that is an awfully good-looking girl to be walking on the street of five o'clock in the morning. That girl did not want to be seen. I got a good look,

right into her face, stare it right into her eyes the way I'm looking at you right now. And she turned her head that way and duck down an alleyway. They passed the young woman and kept driving toward the Belmar Bridge. And then opened the bridge on 35. And just before the top of the bridge, there was a cart ripping down on the side of the road. Craig testifies that the woman was wearing a leather

bomber jacket with a fur collar, a head scarf and heels. We're just so unusual to see

somebody well dressed in that early in the morning. Now, you've never seen this person before.

the person in the picture. A couple days later, Craig tells the court he was with his son when they stopped by his seven eleven. And on the front door was a picture of the woman he spotted by the bridge.

“I said, that's, that's who we saw. That's why I saw that day.”

Do you know what picture that was that you saw? I would, if I saw it. The defense pulls up a picture on the monitor. It's Sarah's senior portrait. She's wearing a black graduation drape. She has a soft smile for dimples showing. That's it. This is the picture that you saw. That's it. And Sarah, is this the individual that you saw on December 3rd, the morning, on August 3rd, the week? I would find that person as that person. Yes.

Craig is confident that the person he saw on the bridge that morning was Sarah. So according to the defense, that would mean Liam and Preston did not throw her off the bridge the night before. Could Sarah actually be alive? Craig testifies that the young woman he saw didn't look like she wanted to be seen and ducked into the alley. But when the prosecution starts there across examination, they question the accuracy of Craig's story.

Craig tells the court that when he saw news that Sarah was missing, he didn't go to the police

to report what he saw. He talked to a private investigator first. The first thing you told him

about seeing Sarah's turn was that you saw her on Friday, December 2nd, 2016. That's correct. Okay, man. He then told you that the car was found on the bridge, December 3rd, Saturday morning.

“That's correct. And then he asked you, well, you could be wrong about the date, right?”

And you said, I guess I could be wrong about the date. That's correct. So Craig acknowledges he could be wrong about when he saw Sarah. He could have seen the woman in the leather jacket on Friday, December 2nd. The day before Sarah was reported missing. On Saturday, December 3rd. There was also the issue of what time Craig saw the car on the bridge that morning. The prosecution calls Detective Weissbrot to the stand to explain.

So with Mr. Absolutely provided me with the information. I of course looked into it and indicated that he had seen the car parked on the bridge at 515 a.m. on the 3rd. The car was removed from the bridge at 246 a.m. so it was apparent that if he did see a car on that particular day, it was the Sarah's turn's car because the car had even been pounded by the police at that point. Craig wouldn't have seen Sarah's car at 5 a.m. because it was towed away shortly after

her car was reported abandoned at 2 a.m. Craig's confident he saw something. But would the jury believe it was Sarah? The defense calls two more witnesses to the stand before resting its case. The private investigator Craig Hetzel spoke to who confirms the conversation they had and one of Liam's friends who testifies that he doesn't want to see Liam get in trouble. The prosecution had called 25 witnesses. After a month of trial, the case of Sarah's

disappearance is finally coming to an end. Both sides are ready to give their closing arguments.

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Both sides take the floor to present their closing statements.

Assistant prosecutor Chris Decker approaches the jury. Behind him on the prosecution table is Sarah's safe and stacks of envelopes labeled evidence.

“The biggest mistake Sarah's turn ever made was telling this man about this.”

Decker holds up a thick stack of old bills for the jury to see. Cash that Decker notes was found in Sarah's safety deposit box and the safe Liam is accused of bearing with Preston in Sandy Hook. He runs through the other evidence. The prosecution spent weeks presenting to the court. Preston's admission to being in a complex, the taped conversation with Anthony Curry. But the most egregious part, Decker says is how Liam took advantage of Sarah's

trust, someone who was supposedly his close friend. Decker argues Liam made Sarah believe that she could go to Canada and then made it look as if she ran away or died by suicide. He says it was all part of his cold-blooded betrayal. He waited as he told you for a 19-year-old girl to turn her back before he wrapped his arm around her neck and he choked her to death. It is obvious that he purposely killed Sarah's turn for her money.

That is why he is guilty absolutely with the murder, with felony murder and with robbing. But the defense says again that there just isn't enough evidence to prove Liam is guilty. No matter what anybody has said or testified in this case, there is reasonable doubt that Sarah's death. The evidence tells us this. There is reasonable doubt that Sarah was murdered. There is reasonable doubt that she was wrong. And as a result,

“you must find Liam not guilty of these charges.”

Diaz Kobo tells the jury to question what they've heard. To be wary of Preston who was quick to throw his friend under the bus, to be skeptical about why no physical evidence has been recovered. And if the jury still has questions about the case after four weeks of trial, then they need to equip Liam of any wrongdoing. Michael Stern is in the audience during closing statements by the end of the day after hearing

both sides lay out their arguments one last time and reliving the details of how his daughter died. Michael again has his head in his hands, solving. He described what it was like to be there in an interview with ABC News. It's a little nerve wracking, but had to be there. And the other people that testified is Sarah's disposition and everything. You know, after hearing lies in misdirection from Liam McIthazney, just making up stories.

But as strong as he thought the prosecution's case was, he understood there was always a chance

the verdict wouldn't go their way. There's always a doubt, because some people just don't either they don't understand what they're hearing, where they just think that, well, I can't convict this person with the conscious of a juror thinking, well, this is a kid that's 21 years old, but we can't do this, though. It's now a waiting game to see when the jurors will make their final decision.

On February 26th, the court reconvenes after just two days of jury deliberations. The jury is ready to deliver a verdict. The room is tense as everyone waits for them to file in. The presiding juror stands, and the court clerk starts to read through the list of charges.

Question number one, how do you find us to count one of the indictments as to whether the

“defendant Liam McIthazney committed the crime of murder by purposely or knowingly causing”

the death of Sarah Stark? guilty. Count two of the indictments as to whether the defendant

committed the crime. I heard the first guilty, and then didn't hear anything after that. I don't know what

happened. It's just, it just, it's just, it just can't bring physical evidence. There are guilty voices, talking, but guilty, it's all I needed to hear. The jury finds Liam guilty on all seven counts against him. Four months later, he sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and an additional ten years for the desecration of human remains. He'd later filed two appeals to overturn his conviction, which were denied

“in 2023 and 2025. At Liam's sentencing hearing, Michael takes the stand again. This time,”

to confront his daughter's killer. The favorite detective's informed me. Sarah was murdered.

He's up alone. I was never saved and not for sharp, and never felt so much trouble on the

penny, and my heart and my soul. For the most part, Liam keeps his head down as Michael speaks. He looks older. He's wearing a blue prison jumpsuit and handcuffs. He's no longer that 19-year-old Jersey Shore teen police first visited over two years ago. The one time Liam looks up to glance at Michael, tears streamed down Liam's cheeks. I have to deal with never any closure because Sarah's body is never been recovered. The horrific act of what happened to Sarah's body is on

“it. We stay, we're going for the threat. I'll never be able to get without Sarah, like tell her I'm low for it.”

Since his arrest, Liam has chosen to remain silent. He didn't testify at his trial, and when it came time for sentencing, Liam again chooses to keep quiet. Preston tell you to stand, and when you're ready, you can just tell me what you want to say before I sent you. But Preston did speak to police at Liam's trial, and when it comes time for his own sentencing, he decides to speak up once again. So Mr. Stern and all those who are the

blessing and one Sarah, I'm sorry for your loss. I don't know how apologies will bring her back or make any of this okay, but I'm truly fine about my odds. Sorry, there's only things wrong with this scenario that I wish I could say back. And I see most importantly to Sarah herself who I've no doubt watches over us. Sorry. But Sarah's dad doesn't hear Preston's apology. Michael had abruptly left when Preston stood to speak. Preston is sentenced to 18 years in prison with the

possibility of parole after 15 years. Thank you, everybody. It's been a long two and a half years

for this journey. Outside the courthouse, Michael addresses reporters. He says they finally got

justice for Sarah. I love my daughter. And everybody else did, too. She took good care. She was a talented artist. She was a rising star. Their life ended way too soon. I miss her. I cried for her every night. I'm just glad to finally justice is served. That year, 2019, Michael and Neptune City High School established the Sarah Stern Scholarship for the Arts to support aspiring high school and college artists. The scholarship is still active and the

organization hosts a major fundraiser every March around the time of Sarah's birthday. And on the Belmar Bridge, there's a memorial dedicated to Sarah. It's Sarah's senior portrait in a small white wooden frame bolted to the side of the bridge. People still stop by the bridge to leave flowers. At 19, Sarah was just starting to discover herself. She had been plans for the life that lay out in front of her. But all that promise was taken from her. And to think, Liam might have gotten

to cooperate with police in that daring undercover operation. Michael can't help but think about

“the potential Sarah had and what she could have done with it. My daughter, smart kid, good kid,”

friendly, cared about people, never heard anybody. She was just a wonderful, wonderful child.

You know, becoming an adult and starting to do live her own life. It was ended by somebody that's just the greed and me callousness of killing another human being. It's something I'll never understand. But he's relieved that at least her killer will be behind bars for life. I felt that Sarah

“got some justice. So about her, she deserved it and she got her justice.”

Friends and family describe Sarah as creative and loving.

Someone who could make you laugh. She was also trusting and it seems Liam McItazney took advantage of that. He wasn't the close friend Sarah thought he was. But even close friends can hide dark secrets. Bridge of lies is a production of ABC audio and 2020 hosted by me, Judy Chang produced by Sabrina Fag, Audrey Mossdeck and Camille Peterson, production help and fact checking by Annelys Alinder. Tracy Samuelson is our story editor. Our supervising producer is

Sasha Azlanian, music and mixing by Evan Viola. Special thanks to Katie Dendos, Janice Johnston, Joseph Diaz, Avery Brook and Michelle Margillis. Josh Cohen is our director of podcast programming. Amin McNiff is our executive producer. Hi, I'm Brian Buckmeyer, host of the wedding nominated podcast Bad Rapp, the case against Ditty from 2020 and ABC audio. It's an honor to be recognized by the Webby Awards,

a celebration of the best of the internet. There's some amazing shows that have been nominated

in all categories and through the People's Voice voting you can be part of the outcome. Check out the nominees and make your voice heard today. Visit ABCaudio.com/webys. Hello, darling, it's Lisa VanPum. My humor is your reality series VanPum Villa is back in England. Where the standards are high and the chaos are unavoidable. And if you think our staff is

“all drama, wait until you meet the guests. Love Island, Bachelor Nation. The challenge?”

This is the white lotus of reality stars. Witness the reality star crossover event you won't want to miss. New season of Bad Apapila premieres April 16 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus.