NJ - Sarah Stern, 19, Neptune City, 2 Dec 2016 *Arrests* #2

[Niner]

from the article in post #759:

McAtasney’s trial, before Superior Court Judge Richard W. English, is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

So guessing no trial today, but continues to next Tuesday, Feb. 5th.

 

[Niner]

Update in red for Wednesday, 1/30:

*Trial continues (Day 5)- on Feb. 5th (@ 9am ET) - NJ - Sarah Stern (19) (Dec. 2, 2016, Neptune City; not found) - *Liam McAtasney (21/19 @ time of crime) charged (2/1/17) & indicted (2/2/17) with 1st degree murder, 1st degree robbery, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, desecrating human remains (2nd degree), tampering with physical evidence & hindering his own apprehension. Plead not guilty. No bond. DA seeks Life.
Trial started 1/23/19; should last 4 to 6 weeks & will only be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays.
1/23/19 Day 1: Opening Statements. State witness: Preston Taylor (accomplice).
1/24/19 Day 2: State witnesses: Preston Taylor. Carly Draper (Sarah's friend). Shirley Longo (Sarah's aunt). Michelle Bahr (Sarah's cousin). Kearny Bank Branch Manager Raymond Bloetjes & teller Lynda Capobianco. A detective with the financial crimes unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Laura Carmody, a waitress & former co-worker of Liam at Brennan's Steakhouse. Trial continues on Tuesday, 1/29.
1/29/19 Day 3: State witnesses: Neptune Township Officer Shane Leaming. Neptune City Patrolman Michael Kepler. Neptune City Police Sgt. Bradley Hindes. Megan Barr, Sarah's cousin. Detective William Raynor of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Detective Dave Sidorakis of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Trial continues on 1/30.
1/30/19 Day 4: State witnesses: Linda Stitely, Sarah's aunt. Robert St. Amand, close friend of Sarah's. N.J. State Police Sgt. Pete Pfifer (assigned to the Point Pleasant bureau of the marine services bureau, in charge of searches in the Shark River). Trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, 2/5.
His accomplice 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. His sentencing will be adjourned until later in the year, pending McAtasney’s trial. Will testify at LMc's trial.

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, February 5th:
*Trial continues (Day 5) (@ 9am ET) - NJ - Sarah Stern (19) (Dec. 2, 2016, Neptune City; not found) - *Liam McAtasney (21/19 @ time of crime) charged (2/1/17) & indicted (2/2/17) with 1st degree murder, 1st degree robbery, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, desecrating human remains (2nd degree), tampering with physical evidence & hindering his own apprehension. Plead not guilty. No bond. DA seeks Life.
Trial started 1/23/19; should last 4 to 6 weeks & will only be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays.
1/23/19 Day 1: Opening Statements. State witness: Preston Taylor (accomplice).
1/24/19 Day 2: State witnesses: Preston Taylor. Carly Draper (Sarah's friend). Shirley Longo (Sarah's aunt). Michelle Bahr (Sarah's cousin). Kearny Bank Branch Manager Raymond Bloetjes & teller Lynda Capobianco. A detective with the financial crimes unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Laura Carmody, a waitress & former co-worker of Liam at Brennan's Steakhouse. Trial continues on Tuesday, 1/29.
1/29/19 Day 3: State witnesses: Neptune Township Officer Shane Leaming. Neptune City Patrolman Michael Kepler. Neptune City Police Sgt. Bradley Hindes. Megan Barr, Sarah's cousin. Detective William Raynor of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Detective Dave Sidorakis of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Trial continues on 1/30.
1/30/19 Day 4: State witnesses: Linda Stitely, Sarah's aunt. Robert St. Amand, close friend of Sarah's. N.J. State Police Sgt. Pete Pfifer (assigned to the Point Pleasant bureau of the marine services bureau, in charge of searches in the Shark River). Trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, 2/5.
His accomplice 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. His sentencing will be adjourned until later in the year, pending McAtasney’s trial. Will testify at LMc's trial.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

“The Sarah Stern murder trial is moving into it's third week, with prosecutors set to call some of their most important witnesses. FiOS1 News' Jessica Orbon has the story.” (video at link)

Verizon FiOS1 - New Jersey

 

[Veronica27]

Sarah’s father is expected to take the stand today.
Redirect Notice

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

“FREEHOLD - Sarah Stern's body would have been on its way out to sea by the time searchers began looking for it in the Shark River Inlet, if it was thrown off the Route 35 bridge as prosecutors allege, an expert in ocean engineering testified today.

The 19-year-old city woman's body would have drifted seven miles offshore within 24 hours if it was thrown off the bridge late at night into the early morning when she disappeared, said Hugh Roarty, an ocean engineer with Rutgers University.

Roarty told a jury weighing a murder charge against Stern's childhood friend that her body would have taken about 53 minutes to drift from the bridge to the Shark River Inlet if it entered the water between 11:45 p.m. on Dec. 2 to 2:45 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2016 - a. time frame provided to him by prosecutors.

[SBM]

Roarty's testimony provided a possible rationale why the body of the 19-year-old Neptune City woman has never been found.

[SBM]

The tide was ebbing, or going out to sea, during the entire time frame when Stern was possibly thrown off the bridge, Roarty testified. In addition, the wind was blowing from west to east, and waves also were traveling east, he said.

[SBM]

Roarty, who prepared a report on tidal conditions on the night Stern went missing for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, will be cross-examined this afternoon by McAtasney's defense attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo.“ (BBM)
Sarah Stern murder: Body was drifting out to sea as search began, expert says

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

“[SBM]

[An expert on ocean tides], Hugh Roarty of Rutgers University’s Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, presented his findings during the fifth day of Liam McAtasney’s trial.

[SBM]

Roarty testified that he learned of the case after reading about Stern’s disappearance in a local news report. He said he then contacted the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and offered his expertise on the measurement of winds, currents and waves.

[SBM]

The tide when Stern’s body entered the inlet was strong because it was three days after the new moon, he testified.

[SBM]

Roarty said [the lead detective on the case, Brian] Weisbrot told him that investigators believed Stern’s body was tossed off the bridge anywhere from 11:45 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2016, to 2:46 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2016.

The United States Coast Guard responded to the bridge at 5:24 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2016, Roarty said. The Coast Guard search, which started at the bridge, moved to the outside of the inlet just before 7 a.m., he said.

‘When they started their search at the Route 35 bridge, making their way out to the Atlantic Ocean, if a body had been thrown from the Route 35 bridge the time period given to me, it would have been well to the east at that time period,’ Roarty said.

‘Beyond the location of where they were searching,’ Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Decker said to Roarty.

‘Well to the east,’ Roarty acknowledged.

Roarty testified for nearly two hours. Prior to the trial day’s lunch break, McAtasney’s attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo, did not have a chance to cross-examine Roarty. That will come later in the day Tuesday.”
Sarah Stern’s body was swept out to sea before anyone could find it, expert testifies. It’s never been found

 

[spaz1959]

Very nice of Mr.Roarty to volunteer his expertise.

 

[si2244]

How come the papers never report any of the cross-examinations? Would like to get full context of trial - very little seems to be reported.

 

[cass523]

Earlier Tuesday morning, Stern's former boss at a Neptune City pizzeria testified she last saw the victim two days before her disappearance when she came into the shop with McAtasney to pick up a pizza.

Esther D'Amico, manager of Bruno's Pizzeria, said Stern that night was excited about her upcoming project to paint the windows of the pizzeria for Christmas. D'Amico said she and Stern talked that night about getting paint for the project.

D'Amico's testimony seemed to contradict statements from McAtasney that Stern may have committed suicide or run away to Canada.

D'Amico said Stern was planning on painting the windows of a local dry cleaner after painting the pizzeria's windows.

Stern, a budding artist, had worked at the pizzeria for about a year, but quit her job so she could have more time to devote to her art shows, D'Amico said.

D'Amico tried to convince Stern to stay on the job at least one day a week because "she was good," D'Amico said.

"She said she couldn't because of her art," D'Amico testified.

Sarah Stern murder: A shooting star text to her dad, and then forever silence

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Father of New Jersey teen Sarah Stern, allegedly killed by classmate, testifies at trial

“Sarah Stern's father, Michael Stern, testified about his relationship with his daughter and the impact his wife's death had on the family.

And in a dramatic move, he pointed at the defendant, Liam McAtasney, and accused him of killing Sarah.

[SBM]

On Tuesday, Michael Stern gave the impression that Sarah handled her mother's death as well as could be expected. He was also asked about phone messages and conversations he had with his daughter before her disappearance. He talked about Sarah's travels and her desire to move to Canada.

Michael Stern also shared many text messages with his daughter, which ended abruptly when she went missing. Michael Stern has gone to Disney World, and while there, he received a frantic message about his daughter's car. He started getting ready to drive back to New Jersey right away to look for his daughter.

[SBM]”

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Sarah Stern’s Father Takes The Stand In Murder Trial Of Liam McAtasney

“FREEHOLD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Tuesday was an emotional day in a New Jersey courtroom as the father of a missing teenager testified about his last moments with his only child.

Prosecutors say Sarah Stern was murdered by high school friends.

Stern’s father Michael Stern wiped away tears after reading the final messages exchanged with his daughter in December 2016.

‘Sarah, where are you?’ he read.

Michael Stern went face to face with his 19-year-old daughter’s alleged killer, pointing at 21-year-old Liam McAtasney.

‘Do you have any independent recollection of this defendant coming near you? Calling on you? Checking on you? Asking what he can do to help find Sarah?’ asked assistant prosecutor Meghan Doyle.

Stern replied ‘no’ to each question.

The defense said otherwise.

‘You are aware, however that Liam did participate in that search that was organized?’ asked attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo.

‘Yes,’ Stern replied.

[SBM]

‘Were you made aware that she was packing things up while you were in Florida?’ asked Diaz-Cobo.

‘No,’ Michael Stern replied.

Prosecutors showed evidence of a positive relationship with her father. Michael Stern read a message Sarah posted on social media on her birthday.

‘My dad knows me so well with about four exclamation points and hashtag Nutella, emoji smiley face with a couple of hearts and Timberlands, and then a snowflake, and then hashtag my dad’s the best,’ Stern read.

The night Stern disappeared in December of 2016, landline phone records inside the Stern home show four phone calls to McAtasney’s phone. His former roommate testified he could not find that same night.

[SBM]” (BBM)

 

[spaz1959]

I was having some trouble hearing MS testimony regarding phonecalls made from the Sterns home phone to LM cell phone. Did anyone hear the date, and time of these phone calls?
Also how does that compare and or relate, to the Sterns neighbors surveillance camera, and it's date and times?

 

[cass523]

I was having some trouble hearing MS testimony regarding phonecalls made from the Sterns home phone to LM cell phone. Did anyone hear the date, and time of these phone calls?
Also how does that compare and or relate, to the Sterns neighbors surveillance camera, and it's date and times?

12/2
The first phone call was at 4:50 pm (21 seconds)
The second phone call at 4:48 pm (27 seconds)
The third phone calls at 4:47 pm (8 seconds)
Final call 4:46 (10 seconds) all calls from phone# 848-218-3943

"Mr. Stern did not recognize the phone number, later learning it belonged to LM
I will look to see if there is info related to the neighbor's camera for comparison.

Mr. Stern also said Sarah's grandmother called him saying she had tried calling Sarah a couple of times during the day and did not hear back from her, which was unusual for Sarah to not return her calls. So Mr. Stern tried to get in touch with Sarah. He said when he was texting Sarah his messages to her on his iPhone normally show in blue. But this time his texts were showing as green, which he said usually means the phone was off, or the battery was discharged."

 

[Veronica27]

12/2
The first phone call was at 4:50 pm (21 seconds)
The second phone call at 4:48 pm (27 seconds)
The third phone calls at 4:47 pm (8 seconds)
Final call 4:46 (10 seconds) all calls from phone# 848-218-3943

Mr. Stern did not recognize the phone number, later learning it belonged to LM
I will look to see if there is info related to the neighbor's camera for comparison.

——-

Neighbor’s camera showed Sarah enter her home at 3:45, Liam leave at 4:08 and someone in the backyard at 4:28. So I’m sure it was Preston in the backyard & calling Liam’s phone to try and find it.

 

[cass523]

He read the text messages to the jury:

"Sarah, where are you?

"Sarah, are you up?

"Sarah, what's going on?

"Grandma's trying to get in touch with you.

"Why is your phone off?

"Call me when you get this message.

"Call me as soon as you get this message."

The last message was sent in all capital letters, to get his daughter's attention, Michael Stern said.

There was no response to any of them, he testified.

Then, he said he got a phone call that at first he thought was a prank, about the car his daughter drove.

"I said, 'Sarah usually drives that car,' and the caller hung up," Michael Stern testified. "I tried to call the number back, but it went to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office."

He said he just got a recording about the hours the office was open, so he called his nephew, who is on the Neptune First Aid Squad, to see if he could find out what was going on. The nephew called him back and gave him the news.

"They found the car on the bridge, and nobody was in it," Michael Stern said.

At first, he thought Sarah's car broke down, and she left it on the bridge, he said.

But a lot of other things went through his mind, including that his daughter had been abducted, he said. That she might have jumped was one of many things that crossed his mind, but Michael Stern insisted his daughter was acting normally and did not seem to be depressed at all, despite that her mother had died four years earlier after a long bout with cancer.

After Sarah Stern disappeared, McAtasney told police she had once talked about suicide and that she had a rocky relationship with her father and wanted to go to Canada to get away from him. He also told them she had lost all respect for her father and that her father lost $2 million in bad investments in Disney stock.

Michael Stern's testimony contradicted all that. He said he never had $2 million to invest in Disney. Although the two of them were in sharp disagreement about the 2016 presidential race, Michael Stern described interactions with his daughter that seemed to portray a normal, loving relationship.

On Thanksgiving 2016, just days before Sarah Stern disappeared, Michael Stern was at the family home in New Jersey, and Sarah was visiting her aunts in Florida, he said.

Michael Stern said he sent photos to Sarah of the turkey he had cooked and of Buddy, the family's American foxhound, with a text message that said, "Buddy helping me cook the Thanksgiving turkey," he testified. She replied in a text message, 'Wow!!! Give him a bone and a kiss for me," he said.

That day, she also sent her father a text message that said, "I love you," he said.

On Sarah's final birthday, on March 24, 2016, Michael Stern said he gave his daughter a pair of Timberland boots and some Nutella snacks.

"She loves Nutella," he told the jury.

That day, she posted photos of her gifts on Instagram and said, "My dad knows me so well!"

https://www.app.com/story/news/loca...ody-drifting-out-sea-search-began/2743513002/

 

[spaz1959]

——-

Neighbor’s camera showed Sarah enter her home at 3:45, Liam leave at 4:08 and someone in the backyard at 4:28. So I’m sure it was Preston in the backyard & calling Liam’s phone to try and find it.

So PT is in the Sterns backyard with Sarahs body. Using the Sterns cordless landline, calling LM missing cell phone? First 2 phone calls did not go to voicemail? Last 2 did go to voicemail?

 

[Niner]

Wednesday, February 6th:
*Trial continues (Day 6) (@ 9am ET) - NJ - Sarah Stern (19) (Dec. 2, 2016, Neptune City; not found) - *Liam McAtasney (21/19 @ time of crime) charged (2/1/17) & indicted (2/2/17) with 1st degree murder, 1st degree robbery, felony murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, desecrating human remains (2nd degree), tampering with physical evidence & hindering his own apprehension. Plead not guilty. No bond. DA seeks Life.
Trial started 1/23/19; should last 4 to 6 weeks & will only be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays.
1/23/19 Day 1: Opening Statements. State witness: Preston Taylor (accomplice).
1/24/19 Day 2: State witnesses: Preston Taylor. Carly Draper (Sarah's friend). Shirley Longo (Sarah's aunt). Michelle Bahr (Sarah's cousin). Kearny Bank Branch Manager Raymond Bloetjes & teller Lynda Capobianco. A detective with the financial crimes unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Laura Carmody, a waitress & former co-worker of Liam at Brennan's Steakhouse. Trial continues on Tuesday, 1/29.
1/29/19 Day 3: State witnesses: Neptune Township Officer Shane Leaming. Neptune City Patrolman Michael Kepler. Neptune City Police Sgt. Bradley Hindes. Megan Barr, Sarah's cousin. Detective William Raynor of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Detective Dave Sidorakis of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Trial continues on 1/30.
1/30/19 Day 4: State witnesses: Linda Stitely, Sarah's aunt. Robert St. Amand, close friend of Sarah's. N.J. State Police Sgt. Pete Pfifer (assigned to the Point Pleasant bureau of the marine services bureau, in charge of searches in the Shark River). Trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, 2/5.
2/5/19 Day 5: State witnesses: Esther D'Amico, manager of Bruno's Pizzeria (Stern's former boss). Hugh Roarty, an ocean engineer with Rutgers University. Michael Stern, Sarah's father. Trial continues on 2/6.
His accomplice 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. His sentencing will be adjourned until later in the year, pending McAtasney’s trial. Will testify at LMc's trial.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Some articles appear to have been updated with additional information:

“An expert on ocean tides testified Tuesday that Sarah Stern, who prosecutors allege was killed by her childhood friend and tossed off a Jersey Shore bridge in 2016, likely drifted out to sea before anyone could find her body.

[SBM]

During cross-examination, defense attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo highlighted the fact that Roarty was not present on the bridge when prosecutors claim Stern’s body was dumped into the Shark River.

‘It’s fair to say you don’t know where that body is,’ Diaz-Cobo asked Roarty.

‘Correct,’ he responded.”

Sarah Stern’s body was swept out to sea before anyone could find it, expert testifies. It’s never been found


“A stoic Michael Stern sat directly across his daughter’s alleged killer on the witness stand Tuesday afternoon in Superior Court.

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Meghan Doyle peppered him with questions in the Freehold courtroom about his only child, Sarah Stern, his communication with her and the relationship the two shared. The trips the two went on together to digital-media conventions, disputes over political candidates and his wife’s death from cancer in 2013.

[SBM]

Michael Stern said he was unaware of the shoebox full of cash Sarah found in the family’s second home in Avon-by-the-Sea. The shoebox contained approximately $25,000 in cash and was left with a note from Sarah’s mother, authorities said. That money had been deposited in a safety-deposit box at the Kearny Bank in Bradley Beach, authorities said. Taylor testified at the start of the trial that McAtasney went with Stern to the bank where she withdrew some of the money before she was killed.

During cross-examination of Michael Stern, defense attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo highlighted that Sarah Stern went to trips to conventions without her father and that she had expressed a desire to move.

Diaz-Cobo asked whether he was aware of his daughter moving personal items to a neighbor’s home and to McAtasney’s apartment while her father was on vacation in Disney World.

Stern said he knew Sarah moved stuff to the neighbor’s house, but not McAtasney’s place.

Diaz-Cobo also reiterated that Michael Stern was made aware that McAtasney was at the search party for Sarah Stern in December 2016, and that McAtasney had come up to him.

[SBM]”
‘He’s right there.' Sarah Stern’s father faces his daughter’s alleged killer at trial


“[SBM]

After Sarah Stern disappeared, McAtasney told police she had once talked about suicide and that she had a rocky relationship with her father and wanted to go to Canada to get away from him. He also told them she had lost all respect for her father and that her father lost $2 million in bad investments in Disney stock.

Michael Stern's testimony contradicted all that. He said he never had $2 million to invest in Disney. Although the two of them were in sharp disagreement about the 2016 presidential race, Michael Stern described interactions with his daughter that seemed to portray a normal, loving relationship.

[SBM]

Following Michael Stern's testimony, a detective with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office told the jury about finding some of that money in Sarah's safe deposit box at Kearny Bank in Bradley Beach after she disappeared.

Bank employees have previously testified Sarah was in the bank on Dec. 2, 2016, to access the safe deposit box. And, McAtasney's former roommate, Preston Taylor, previously testified that McAtasney had convinced her to go to the bank to take out the found money so the two of them could run off to Canada or California, when in reality, he planned to kill her and take the cash.

Prosecutor's Detective Nicholas Cattelon testified Tuesday that after Sarah Stern's disappearance, her safe deposit box still contained $25,250 in cash.

‘It was all older currency, not in circulation anymore,’ Cattelon said.

He described the cash as ‘dry rot, stuck together, falling apart, it was very brittle.’

Cattelon also described processing Sarah's car for fingerprints, but finding none.

[SBM]”
Sarah Stern murder: A shooting star text to her dad, and then forever silence

 

[cass523]

Stolen cash found buried inside remote mortar on Sandy Hook

FREEHOLD - Investigators had to scale the top of a mortar battery near the end of Sandy Hook and then climb down treacherous terrain to the area where they located a safe containing Sarah Stern's stolen money, a detective told a jury today as the trial of Stern's accused killer continued.

Detective Nicholas Cattelona of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office testified that Preston Taylor, the roommate of Liam McAtasney, led investigators on Feb. 1, 2017, to a remote area of Sandy Hook where he said he had buried the safe.

It was located in mortar battery No. 329, one of a series of four batteries in that area of the beachfront national park that once protected shipping routes into New York City, Cattelona said.

Cattelona described getting to the location where the safe was buried.

"We were escorted up a steep incline of the battery,'' he said.

Detectives "walked across a ridge that separates the four batteries from the top,'' he said.

"From there, Mr. Taylor directed us to the area where he buried the safe,'' Cattelona said.

"We had to climb down some stairs,'' he said. "There were areas where the stairs were absent, so we just had to make our way down as best we could. ...Some of it was concrete. Some of it was moss and overgrowth.''

Taylor stayed on top as the detectives descended into the battery, but he directed them to a landmark near where the safe was buried - a concrete wall with moss on it, the detective said. Nearby, the detectives located the safe, he said.

"It wasn't buried deep at all,'' Cattelona said, although he said the area where it was located was out of the way.

Sarah Stern murder: Stolen cash found buried inside remote mortar on Sandy Hook

Prosecutors allege that McAtasney, 21, of Neptune City strangled Stern, his childhood friend, during a robbery on Dec. 2, 2016 in which he stole money she had recently found in a family home in Avon.

They allege that McAtasney and Taylor then removed the 19-year-old woman's body from her Neptune City home and threw it off the Route 35 bridge from Belmar to Neptune, leaving her car atop the span to make it look like she committed suicide.

Cattelona testified that a key found in a car that was being driven by McAtasney following his arrest in February 2017 opened the safe found buried at Sandy Hook.

Inside the safe was $9,390 in old bills, Cattelona said.