Bridge of Lies: The Trial
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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.
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Ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, this is the trial in the matter of state of New Jersey versus Liam McIntasney.
It's January 2019, more than two years since Sarah Stern's car was found abandoned on the Belmar Bridge. Liam McIntasney is now standing trial on seven charges, including first-degree murder, robbery, and desecrating human remains. He could face life in prison if he's convicted. The wood-paneled courtroom fits a little over 50 people, and today it's packed. Michael Stern and Sarah's friends and family are on one side, the McIntasney family on the other. Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Megan Doyle takes the floor to give the state's opening statement.
Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah Stern will not be walking through those doors into this courtroom at any point. She will never send her father another text. She will never hug him or tell him she loves him. Her friends and family will never get to enjoy her company, her smile, her laugh, or being with her. That's not because she drove to the top of the Route 35 bridge in Belmar. It's not because she disappeared to Canada, created some false identity, and is living her best life. It's because this defendant murdered her.
Doyle walks the court through the kind of evidence they should expect to see over the next few weeks of trial, including testimony from two close friends of Liam. One, she claims, helped Liam plan Sarah's murder. The other, she says, helped police record Liam describing how he did it. But Liam's attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo, urges the jury to be skeptical, to question the evidence, and just how little of it, he argues, there actually is.
Trials very much are like a puzzle, crossword puzzle, if you will. And there has to be pieces that fit in order for that puzzle to reveal itself to you. And in this case, throughout the entire trial, Try, you won't be asking yourselves, that doesn't fit. This doesn't. Something's not right. Something's missing.
He says there isn't enough to show Liam had anything to do with his 19-year-old friend Sarah's disappearance. Like the lack of physical evidence, he says if Sarah was harmed, why was nothing found at her house or in her car? No blood, no urine, no fingerprints. The defense argues there isn't enough evidence to support the testimony the court will hear from the prosecution's key witnesses. So Diaz-Cobo says that what the jury should expect to hear from these witnesses are lies.
And if the state's evidence doesn't give you a complete picture and firmly convince you that Liam is guilty, you must find him not guilty.
Sarah's case has been a dark cloud over her family and friends, especially her father, Michael. The trial will bring to light new details about the investigation that at this point have never been heard. The prosecution says she was murdered by her childhood friend, someone she trusted, who they say spent months planning how he'd kill her and steal her money. But the defense says that couldn't be true. Sarah wasn't dead. Because they have someone who says they saw her the day she went missing. From ABC Audio and 2020, this is Bridge of Lies. I'm Juju Chang.
What are the main charges against Liam McIntasney?
Episode 6, The Trial.
Raise your right hand. Do solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you give, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do. The first person to take the stand is Liam's old roommate, turned lead witness. Please state your name, spell your last name for the record.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:54
2
What are the main charges against Liam McIntasney?
4:54–13:02
3
What evidence does the prosecution present in the trial?
13:02–20:39
4
How does the defense challenge the prosecution's case?
20:39–25:34
5
What critical testimony does Preston Taylor provide?
25:34–54:39