A New Jersey filmmaker who corroborated with an undercover sting operation to tape his friend confessing to the murder of Sarah Stern has revealed why he did it.
Speaking on ABC News' 20/20, 21-year-old Anthony Curry said he doesn't see himself as a hero for his actions - he just thought it was the right thing to do.
'I didn't do it for fame and notoriety... I was doing it to bring closure to a family,' he told anchor Amy Robach.
Curry secretly recorded Liam McAtasney revealing how he killed childhood friend, Sarah Stern, 19, for her $100,000 inheritance back in 2016.
Anthony Curry (above), 21, agreed to help police secretly record McAtasney talking about how he killed Sarah Stern in December 2016
On Camera, McAtasney admitted to killing Sarah Stern (above), and, with Preston Taylor, threw her body off a bridge before leaving her car there to make it look like the 19-year-old killed herself. Her body has never been found
On Tuesday, McAtasney, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and five other counts including desecration of human remains.
His accomplice, Preston Taylor, pleaded guilty to helping McAtasney dispose of the body into Shark River, and testified against him at trial.
Prosecutors credit much of the justice served to amateur filmmaker Curry, who came forward to police in January 2017 - a month after the murder - to tell them of a strange interaction he'd had with McAtasney.
'[Sarah Stern's father] Michael Stern does not get to know what happens to his daughter without Anthony Curry,' Monmouth County assistant prosecutor Meghan Doyle told ABC.
'I firmly believe that [Curry] is extremely modest about it and uncomfortable with that role, but to me, he will always be the hero and the reason we were able to bring this case to court.'
The conversation was filmed just days before McAtasney (left) and alleged accomplice, Preston Taylor (right), were arrested and charged with the murder of Sarah
Preston Taylor and Sarah Stern pictured in 2014 as prom dates together
Sarah Stern disappeared without a trace in December 2016.
Her body was never found, but police did discover her abandoned car with keys still in the ignition on a bridge in New Jersey.
On Thanksgiving 2016, a week before Stern disappeared, Curry said McAtasney pitched to him an idea for a grisly film.
The plot-line, consisting of murdering a young girl and throwing her off the bridge with his friend, came from an idea that McAtasney had specifically had, Curry said.
'I'm a filmmaker. He used to tell me ideas all the time about films I should make and all that stuff.
'And he told me about this idea he had to kill this girl... that he was going to strangle her and throw her over the bridge with his friend,' he said to ABC.
It wasn't until Stern's disappearance that Curry thought he was discussing a real-murder plot.
On Tuesday, McAtasney was found guilty of all seven counts against him, including first-degree murder and robbery (pictured: McAtasney looks toward the gallery where his family is seated, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019)
He had allegedly been plotting the murder for six months. It's said he wanted to kill his childhood friend in order to take $100,000 of inheritance money she'd received
