Neptune City resident Preston Taylor admits helping to dispose of missing friend Sarah Stern’s body
<p>A judge accepted a plea agreement Monday for one of two men accused in the death of missing 19-year-old Neptune City resident Sarah Stern, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Officials said Preston Taylor, 19, pleaded guilty in front of Monmouth County Judge Richard English.</p>
News 12 Staff
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Apr 24, 2017, 8:29 PM
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Updated 2,551 days ago
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The childhood friend of a missing Neptune City teen admitted to helping to dispose of her body after she was killed.
Preston Taylor, 19, accepted a plea deal and admitted in court Monday that he helped throw 19-year-old Sarah Stern’s body off the Route 35 Bridge into the Shark River in December 2016.
Taylor pleaded guilty to six counts against him, including first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, and second-degree disturbing or desecrating human remains.
Taylor told Judge Richard English that his friend Liam McAtasney learned that Stern had recently come into $10,000. Taylor also said that the two planned to rob her of the money and that McAtasney was going to kill her.
“[McAtasney] strangled her and hid her body in a downstairs bathroom,” Taylor said in court.
Authorities say McAtasney called Taylor after Stern was dead to ask him to help move the body and throw it into the Shark River. Taylor was allegedly offered $3,000 for his help.
Taylor also admitted to leaving Stern’s car on the bridge in an attempt to make her disappearance look like a suicide. Stern’s body has not yet been recovered.
Taylor will be required to testify against McAtasney as part of the plea deal. A grand jury indicted McAtasney Monday.
Taylor is expected to be sentenced July 21. He is facing 10 to 20 years in prison.
