NEPTUNE CITY — The two former classmates arrested in connection with the death of missing teen Sarah Stern buried two safes, one of which contained cash, NJ Advance Media has learned.
One safe was found buried at Sandy Hook and another was found miles away buried at Shark River Park, named for the body of water, where Liam McAtasney and Preston Taylor are accused of dumping Stern's body early Dec. 3, sources said.
One of the safes contained thousands of dollars in cash, the sources said. Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said on Friday that McAtasney robbed Stern of thousands of dollars the night he killed her.
Monmouth County authorities accused McAtasney of strangling Stern at her Neptune City home on Dec. 2 and then recruited Taylor to help him dispose of the body early the following morning. They tossed her body over the side of the Route 35 bridge in Belmar about a mile from her home, authorities have said.
Former classmate strangled teen, threw her body in Shark River, authorities say
The pair – friends who grew up with Stern – were arrested Wednesday, two months after Stern went missing. Her car, a 1994 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royal, was found at the top of the bridge over the Shark River. The car was in working order and the keys were still in it, authorities have said.
Her disappearance prompted a search of the river on Dec. 3 and then a large-scale search by volunteers on Dec. 10.
McAtasney and Taylor were among those searching for her that day. NJ Advance media photographed both teens at the search and the sign-in sheet containing their names.
The search for Stern's body resumed Friday and continued into Monday, its fourth consecutive day.
Trooper Alejandro Goez, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police, said a boat from the agency's Marine Unit is concentrating its search efforts on the Shark River Inlet. However, the search has fanned out to include parts of the ocean beyond the inlet, he said.
McAtasney was charged Wednesday with murder, felony murder, conspiracy, hindering apprehension and desecration of human remains.
Taylor was charged with conspiracy, hindering apprehension and desecration of human remains.
The suspects, both 19 and from Neptune City, are being held in the Monmouth County jail in Freehold awaiting detention hearings. Taylor's hearing is scheduled for Tuesday and McAtasney's hearing is scheduled for Feb. 14.
Staff writer Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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