Ep 4. The Jersey Devil

The show Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall takes a closer look at some of the most chilling criminal cases out there, featuring compelling interviews with the people who were caught up in them. In season 6 episode 4, titled The Jersey Devil, Hall focuses on a particularly grisly case that took place in New Jersey.

The episode centers around the strange and brutal murder of a young woman named Sarah Stern, who went missing on December 2, 2016. Sarah was a 19-year-old aspiring artist who lived in a small New Jersey town with her father and two dogs. Her disappearance quickly became a cause for concern among friends and family. A frantic search was launched by the police and community members, but no signs of Sarah were found. Over the next few months, investigators turned up no leads, and the case went cold.

But then, in February of 2017, a strange tip came in to the police. It came from an old friend of Sarah's named Liam McAtasney, who claimed that he had killed Sarah and thrown her body off of a nearby bridge. This shocking confession led police to launch a new search for Sarah's body in the waters below the bridge, but despite their best efforts, they were not able to find any remains.

In the weeks that followed, investigators began to piece together the evidence in the case, and what they found was shocking. It became clear that Sarah's murder was not random, but rather the result of a carefully planned and sinister plot. McAtasney, it turned out, had been plotting to kill Sarah for months in order to steal a large sum of money she had inherited from her mother's estate. He had even enlisted the help of another friend, Preston Taylor, to carry out the murder.

As the details of the crime emerged, the community was left reeling. How could one person be capable of such a heinous act, let alone two? And how could they have been so callous as to leave Sarah's family and friends in such unimaginable pain?

In The Jersey Devil, Hall takes a deep dive into the case, speaking with those closest to Sarah, as well as members of the law enforcement community who worked tirelessly to solve it. She also delves into the psychology of the killers, exploring what could have led them to commit such a brutal crime.

Throughout the episode, viewers are given a glimpse into the tight-knit community that Sarah lived in, and the impact that her loss had on those who knew her. They are also confronted with some of the uglier aspects of human nature, such as greed and jealousy, which are at the heart of this tragic story.

Overall, The Jersey Devil is a gripping and disturbing episode that lays bare the darkness that can lurk beneath the surface of even the most idyllic towns. It serves as a reminder that evil can exist anywhere, and that we must always remain vigilant against it.