Defense Attorney Suggests That Men Accused Of Sarah Stern's Murder Made Up Story

FREEHOLD - A attorney defending the man accused of strangling 19-year-old Sarah Stern says its possible his client and his co-defendant may have made up the story, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

"Both boys seem to be talking about something that didn't happen,'' Charles Moriarty said. "They're talking about something that was scripted.''

His client, Liam McAtasney, has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree robbery, second-degree desecration of human remains and second-degree hindering.

His co-defendant, Preston Taylor, 19, has been charged with second-degree desecration of human remains and second-degree hindering apprehension.

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Bauman also ordered that both men remain in custody while their cases are pending.

Moriarity did not contest Bauman's decision at a detention court hearing.

Moriarty told the Asbury Park Press after the hearing that McAtasney's recorded statement is practically identical to what Taylor's recorded statement was.

Moriarty said a videotaped conversation McAtasney had with A.C., an unidentified person, took place in a car and lasted between 15 to 20 minutes.

McAtasney said in the tape that he watched Sarah die for 30 minutes after he strangled her. He said he actually lifted her body off the floor during the murder.

"Talk is cheap,'' Moriarty told app.com.

He described McAtasney's discussion as "locker-room talk,'' but then said "it's a little more serious.''

McAtasney "indicated to me that whatever was said, he had nothing to do with this. He wouldn't hurt anyone, and he didn't hurt her.''

Neighbors reported that Stern appeared suicidal on the day authorities say she was murdered, Moriarty said. She was depressed and giving away the belongings of her deceased mother, who died several years earlier, he said.

"I hope for the other family that their child is alive,'' Moriarty told reporters.

McAtasney described Sarah's murder to a friend, who secretly videotaped a meeting between the two in which McAtasney provided details of the strangulation, Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Meghan Doyle said.

He said on the tape he watched her die for half an hour, to make sure she was dead.

"He knew exactly how long it was because he chose to time it," Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Meghan Doyle said in court this week.

Sarah was last seen on Dec. 2. The family car, a 1994 Oldsmobile, was found abandoned on the Route 35 Bridge in Belmar. The two men threw her body into the Shark River. Despite massive searches, her body has not been found.

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Images: Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.