Deceased/Not Found NJ - Sarah Stern, 19, Neptune City, 2 Dec 2016 #3 *Guilty*

SARAH STERN MURDER ACCOMPLICE SAYS HE’S BEING PUNISHED FOR PRAYER

July 19, 2019

"Did the Lord's Prayer doom Preston Taylor to a longer prison sentence for his role in the Sarah Stern murder?

The admitted accomplice of the 19-year-old's convicted killer was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The 22-year-old had been facing up to 20 years as a result of a plea deal for helping prosecutors lock up his friend for the rest of his life.

An attorney for Taylor has filed a motion asking for a reduction in his sentence, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Chris Swendeman, who said a hearing on the matter is scheduled for Aug. 23.

Swendeman said the Prosecutor's Office is not making the motion available to the public.

Attorney John Perrone told the Asbury Park Press that the motion claims Judge Richard W. English put “undue weight” on Taylor's writing the Lord’s Prayer at the bottom of his bunk at the Monmouth County Jail, which is considered an act of vandalism...."

Sarah Stern murder accomplice says he's being punished for prayer
 
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Friday, August 23rd:
*Motions Hearing (re sentencing) (@ am ET) - NJ - Sarah Stern (19) (Dec. 2, 2016, Neptune City; not found) – Only for *Preston Taylor (19) faces up to 20 years in state prison and is subject to the No Early Release Act. (Was facing up to life in prison on the felony murder charge and 51 years for the additional charges).
He pleaded guilty (4/27/17) to 1st degree robbery, 2nd degree conspiracy to commit robbery, 2nd degree distributing or desecrating human remains, 2 counts of 3rd degree hindering apprehension & 4th degree tampering with physical evidence. Plead guilty & will be sentenced on June 14. Sentencing has been postponed due to motions filed by McAtasney’s defense. Sentencing to 6/28.
6/28/19 Update: Taylor has been sentenced to 18 years in a NJ state prison. Superior Court Judge Richard W. English ordered Taylor to serve 85 percent of the sentence before he can be considered for release on parole.
7/19/19 Update: Preston Taylor’s attorney, John Perrone of Long Branch, has filed a motion asking Superior Court Judge Richard W. English to reconsider the sentence he imposed on his 22-year-old client on June 28. A hearing on the request to reconsider the sentence is scheduled for Aug. 23. Perrone has until July 26 to file a brief to support his position for a sentence reduction. Prosecutors have until Aug. 9 to respond to the defense attorney’s brief.
*Liam McAtasney (21/19 @ time of crime) – Found guilty (2/26/19) on all counts. Sentenced (6/21/19) to life without parole, plus 10 years. Judge English denied (5/24/19) defense’s motion for new trial.
 
'Fear factor:' Why Preston Taylor went along with the Sarah Stern murder plot

"Preston Taylor was promised the good life.

The motivation of Taylor, 22, has become one of the enduring mysteries of the Stern case, a story that has captivated the local community and drawn national attention. Why did the young man who had been Stern’s junior prom date seemingly not hesitate to help McAtasney load her body into a car and dump it into the Shark River inlet where it would never be found?

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Sarah Stern murder: Judge rejects accomplice Preston Taylor's bid to reduce sentence

"A judge on Friday rejected Sarah Stern murder accomplice Preston Taylor’s effort to reduce his 18-year prison sentence for his role in the robbery and murder of his high school friend and junior prom date

Michael Stern, Sarah's father, described Taylor's motion as "grandstanding" and "an effort in futility.

"It just doesn't make any sense," he said. "We had a just decision. I'll hold to the same statement I said early on that it (the sentence) should have been longer."


Sarah Stern murder: Judge rejects accomplice Preston Taylor's bid to reduce sentence
 
'Fear factor:' Why Preston Taylor went along with the Sarah Stern murder plot

"Preston Taylor was promised the good life.

The motivation of Taylor, 22, has become one of the enduring mysteries of the Stern case, a story that has captivated the local community and drawn national attention. Why did the young man who had been Stern’s junior prom date seemingly not hesitate to help McAtasney load her body into a car and dump it into the Shark River inlet where it would never be found?

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Pure demonic distilled honed EVIL.
 
Sarah Stern murder: Judge rejects accomplice Preston Taylor's bid to reduce sentence

"A judge on Friday rejected Sarah Stern murder accomplice Preston Taylor’s effort to reduce his 18-year prison sentence for his role in the robbery and murder of his high school friend and junior prom date

Michael Stern, Sarah's father, described Taylor's motion as "grandstanding" and "an effort in futility.

"It just doesn't make any sense," he said. "We had a just decision. I'll hold to the same statement I said early on that it (the sentence) should have been longer."


Sarah Stern murder: Judge rejects accomplice Preston Taylor's bid to reduce sentence
I agree with Mr. Stern: It just doesn’t make sense.

1. Taylor voluntarily signed a plea agreement that clearly stated the judge could sentence him up to 20 years; he was sentenced to only 18 years.

2. While in custody awaiting the trial, he committed a violation of jail policy by writing the Lord’s Prayer at the bottom of his bunk at the Monmouth County Jail, which is considered an act of vandalism.

3. “[Taylor’s attorney, John Perrone] argued that [Judge Richard W.] English’s determination was based on an act of vandalism Taylor committed in the county jail and Taylor’s previous plan to steal drugs from a dealer.

[SBM]

The plan to rob drugs was never carried out, [Taylor’s attorney] Perrone said in the motion. Initially, it was a plan for Taylor to sneak into the room of a former fraternity member at a frat party at his former college to take drugs. That the theft was never carried out shows that Taylor decided not to go through with it because he didn’t want to place himself in danger if confronted, the motion said.”
[BBM: Not because it was the wrong thing to do, or he would be breaking the law]

From another article:

“[Assistant Prosecutor Christopher] Decker said the scheme to steal drugs at Stockton University occurred after the Stern murder and on the same day that McAtasney confessed to the killing in a chilling conversation with a friend that prosecutors secretly recorded. McAtasney discussed the Stockton plan in that conversation, describing it as Preston's idea.

‘We know Taylor had been at Stockton. He made these friends. He knew they had drugs and money,’ the prosecutor said. ‘They were going down there to take money and drugs whatever the cost.’”

4. “Taylor will have to serve a little more than 15 years before he is eligible for parole. He will get credit for the 2 and 1/2 years he’s already served at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold.”
[BBM: So he could be released in as little as 12.5 years. He will be 36/37 years old.]

Sounds more than fair to me.

Sources:
Sarah Stern murder accomplice says he's being punished for prayer

Sarah Stern murder: Judge rejects accomplice Preston Taylor's bid to reduce sentence

Man who helped dump body of Sarah Stern, his junior prom date, sentenced to 18 years
 
I haven’t seen any updates other than this additional article from when first discovered.
Police investigating human bones found on Dog Beach in EHT
Not sure how long the identification process takes but it hasn’t quite been a full month.
Hopefully will be a match to someone and and provide one family some sense of peace.

I've read that processing DNA takes about two weeks but the new option Rapid DNA testing would have results within hours. (Also - DNA can be derived from bones up to about 52o years old).
 
"When prosecutors face off in court in a homicide case in which the victim disappeared, they can face an uphill battle without that crucial evidence.
But the lack of a body doesn’t always mean they don’t have a case."

“We are quite capable of relying on circumstantial and other physical evidence to be able to prove our charges beyond a reasonable doubt," the prosecutor said. Not having a body, he said, is "not something we run from."


"The evidence against McAtasney included a highly detailed taped confession recorded by a friend, which you can see at the top of this story, and testimony by McAtasney's co-defendant. The latter confessed to helping McAtasney dump Stern’s body off the Route 35 bridge over the Shark River."

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NEPTUNE - In the three years since Sarah Stern was murdered by a childhood friend, nothing has healed the hole that Michael Stern said he has in his heart.

But what helps, he says, is keeping his daughter’s memory alive.

One way he does that is by trying to help others pursue their artistic endeavors, just as 19-year-old Sarah was doing before she was killed in December 2016.

That’s why Stern established the Sarah Lee Stern Memorial Scholarship fund.

He’s hoping the fund will get a big boost from a concert scheduled to take place Sunday at the Headliner Night Club on Route 35 here.

The Pat Roddy Band, a Belmar-based rock-and-roll act, volunteered to help the cause and will be joined by special guests performing at the concert from 4 to 8 p.m.

Sarah was a budding artist, interested in drawing in pencil and watercolors, sculpture, television production, props and social media, Stern said of his daughter....

Sarah Stern murder: Scholarship fundraiser concert 'keeps Sarah alive'
 
NEPTUNE – Christmas music was emanating from the stage at the Headliner Night Club as Sarah Stern’s father recalled her artistic talent, during a concert that raised money in her memory for aspiring student artists.

At this bar on Route 35, Michael Stern was working on building another legacy for his daughter, who was murdered in December, 2016.

"We want to keep Sarah’s memory alive," Stern said Sunday. "We want to promote art (and) media, so we can help other promising artists out there."

Sarah Stern murder: Scholarship concert about art and 'healing energy'
 
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