Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is Debra Roberts here with another weekly episode of our latest true crime series from 2020 and ABC Audio, Bridge of Lies. Remember, you can get new episodes early by following Bridge of Lies on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you're listening now. Now, here's the next episode of Bridge of Lies. Just a warning before we get started.
This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and strong language. Almost two months after Sarah disappeared, Detective Weisbrot got an unexpected call from Belmar Police. They had someone who said he thinks he knows what happened to Sarah.
We need to talk to this person immediately.
A former classmate of Sarah's, Anthony Curry, came forward out of the blue, saying he possibly had information about Sarah's disappearance.
They, like, questioned me about what I knew. I was just trying to get it off my chest, like, get it out, like, get it out, you know?
When he went to the police about Liam in 2017, Anthony was an aspiring filmmaker. He had a square jawline, bushy, straight eyebrows, and long, curly brown hair. He was living in Brooklyn, but had grown up in Neptune City, not far from the Jersey Shore. He'd graduated in the same high school class as Sarah and Liam. Anthony said he and Sarah weren't friends, but he and Liam were close.
They played music together, talked about movies.
I hung out all the time. I practically lived at his house for like a little bit of time. Stayed there all the time. Ate dinner with the family.
Anthony told officers that about a week before Sarah went missing, he had a conversation with Liam, a conversation that he thought they needed to know about. Anthony said he stopped by Liam's house at around 11 o'clock on the night of Thanksgiving to hang out and play video games.
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Chapter 2: What new lead do police receive in Sarah's disappearance?
So Liam said he was going to her house to help Sarah count the money. Anthony noticed how amped up Liam was getting as he kept talking.
He was like, he was an energetic kid. He would like, he was like watching like his performance. Like he would like explain it in a way that was like energetic.
Then Liam told Anthony how the movie ends. Detective Weisbrot again.
Liam had informed him that he was going to rob her of her money, kill her and throw her remains over the Belmar Bridge.
It was a bombshell allegation. Anthony was telling investigators that Liam talked about killing Sarah. Liam, Sarah's childhood friend, who'd been searching for Sarah and cooperated with police, who'd given police an alibi for the time Sarah was killed. Before Anthony could fully process what he just heard, he told police Liam laughed and said, wouldn't this be a great idea for a movie?
So Anthony shrugged it all off. Besides, he thought Liam was drunk and that this was just another one of Liam's horror movie pitches.
I was like, yeah, he's a little nuts, but I don't know, I just thought it was a movie. Like, he would tell me ideas all the time and that stuff.
The moment came and went.
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Chapter 3: Who is Anthony Curry and what information does he provide?
Anthony said the pair moved on to playing Xbox, and Anthony crashed at Liam's place that night. A week passed and Anthony never gave Liam's movie pitch a second thought. Until he saw a bunch of posts pop up on his social media feed. They all said, Sarah Stern, missing. Car last seen on the Route 35 bridge. Whereabouts unknown. Anthony's mind started to race.
He told police he was shocked and somewhat in denial. There was no way his friend could have actually killed someone. Liam was drunk. They were just messing around. His funny, lighthearted friend wasn't capable of something so evil, right? According to investigators, Anthony realized this crazy movie idea might have been some kind of plan when he got a chilling Snapchat message from Liam.
Liam asked him, did you talk to the police? From ABC Audio and 2020, I'm Juju Chang, and this is Bridge of Lies. Episode 4, The Sting. Anthony told police that Liam messaged him on Snapchat in January 2017, almost two months after Sarah disappeared, asking if cops had talked to him. Anthony told him no. Liam replied by saying, quote, Word. They talk to almost everybody I know.
If they haven't already, they won't. The exchange alarmed Anthony enough that he decided to get a record of it. On Snapchat, when you open a message, it disappears when you close it. And if you screenshot the conversation, the other person would know. So Anthony said he took a picture of Liam's message with his digital camera.
Authorities said Anthony told them the constant messages from Liam didn't stop. The two usually talked or texted, but Liam kept reaching out over Snapchat. He wanted to get together with Anthony in person. And he was persistent.
Where you at? What are you doing? I gotta tell you something.
Anthony said he just kept telling Liam that he was busy or working. But the truth is, investigators said Anthony was terrified. He couldn't sleep or eat. He kept thinking, if Liam really did hurt Sarah, who's to say Liam wouldn't come after him?
I felt like my family, you know, if somebody's capable of doing that, we could, like, try to hurt my family or somebody I knew.
There hadn't been any new movement on Sarah's case in weeks, and police were desperate for any new leads. But when Anthony came forward with this story well over a month after she went missing, investigators admitted that it sounded too crazy to be true.
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Chapter 4: What shocking conversation did Anthony have with Liam before Sarah went missing?
Investigators said Anthony was driving back and forth between Brooklyn and Monmouth County. He let detectives monitor and record any communication he had with Liam, any phone call, Snapchat picture, or message. On January 31, 2017, investigators brought Anthony into the county prosecutor's office and asked him to call Liam on a recorded line.
Anthony was going to try to get Liam to talk about Sarah's murder.
This is Detective David Sidorakis of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Narcotic Strike Force Electronic Surveillance Unit. Purpose of this recording device is to electronically record a conversation between Anthony Curry and Liam McIntasney. For voice identification purposes, Anthony Curry, would you please state your name? Anthony Curry.
It's been almost a month since the two friends have talked on the phone.
Hey, how you doing? How you doing? I'm doing all right. I'm doing all right.
Anthony's voice is calm and controlled. He even laughs at one of Liam's quips. For a few minutes, it sounds like a normal conversation between friends. But in reality, police are closely listening to every word. And they have a plan. The ruse is that Anthony needs money. His camera broke, and he doesn't have the money to replace it. Anthony's in a real bind. So he asks Liam for help.
I got a shoot on Thursday. I'm like, I have like no cash to pay for anything. You know, it sucks. You couldn't like spot me some cash from that girl's money, right?
Anthony says, that girl. The hope is that this will get Liam to talk about Sarah. Liam pauses.
Uh, I don't think I could do that. We need to talk about that too. Come see me in person sometime.
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Chapter 5: How did Anthony come to realize the seriousness of Liam's statements?
About what? About killing Sarah.
Less than a minute into sitting in Anthony's car, Liam's getting straight to Sarah's death. He goes on, saying he's been laying low. Police have been interrogating him. But Liam says everything is going exactly as expected.
But I had planned Sarah's situation for me to be interrogated by cops. Like, that was a whole part of my plan, to make me look not guilty. Like...
He planned to be questioned by the police after Sarah's disappearance. He wanted them to. And he was confident in the story he had to tell law enforcement. Unprompted, Liam goes back to that December night he was last with Sarah. And without hesitation, Liam tells Anthony what investigators have been hoping to hear.
Dude. All right, so I'm hanging out with her. She has, we went to the bank, she took some money out, not all of her money. We're counting it out, and then she goes to walk out the front door. I choke her out, drag her. My biggest problem was the dog, and her dog laid there and watched as I killed her. Didn't do anything. Her f***ing dog.
Remember, Buddy was Sarah's foxhound, her best friend. When police first visited the house after she went missing, Buddy was locked in a cage. It struck her friends as one of the first signs something wasn't right. Sarah never locked him up. More details come pouring out of Liam.
I pretty much hung her, like... I picked her up and had her just like dangling off the ground and she just pissed herself and said my name and then that was it.
On the camera footage, you can see Liam bringing his arm up, showing Anthony how he wrapped his arm around Sarah's neck. He says it took him half an hour to kill her.
I thought I was going to be able to choke her out and have her out and like
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Chapter 6: What undercover operation do the police plan with Anthony?
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