266. The Big Lie: The Murder of Sara Tokars

Today's case takes us to Marietta, Georgia. The book centered on this case was one of the first true crime books I had read, and it has always stuck with me. The book Secrets Never Lie: The Death of Sara Tokars- A Southern Tragedy of Money, Murder, and Innocence Betrayed is by R. Robin McDonald. It is November 29, 1992, and Thanksgiving weekend has just ended. 39-year-old Sara has been visiting with her parents and her sisters in Bradenton, Florida, for the holiday weekend, but it was time for her and her two boys, 6-year-old Ricky and 4-year-old Mike load up the Toyota SUV to make the 9-hour trek back home to Marietta Georgia, an affluent suburb of Atlanta. After the three had departed, Sara’s husband Fred called the parent's home to inquire if they were on the road yet. Fred, who had been there earlier, had departed earlier as he had a meeting with a client that he couldn’t miss. Sara’s father, Dr John Ambrusko, had answered the call from Fred and told him they they had just departed. It was almost 10 pm when Sara and the boys pulled into her garage. Sara started to unload the car as one of the boys had fallen asleep in his car seat. As she was unloading, a strange man came out of the darkness. The man, who was carrying a sawed-off shotgun, forced Sara and little Ricky back into the car. What happened next is what nightmares are made of, what mothers fear most, and is proof that true evil exists. Join Jen and Cam on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled “The Big Lie: The Murder of Sara Tokars.”Listener discretion by the fab Edward OctoberpodVHS @octoberpodVHSAll music is by our EP Nico @theinkypawprintSources:Secrets Never Lie: The Death of Sara Tokars- A Southern Tragedy of Money, Murder, and Innocence Betrayed is by R. Robin McDonald}https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/sara-tokars-murder/https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/fred-tokars-lawyer-who-set-murder-his-wife-dead/RZ0wVVjemrUPMQKaF8ntdK/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401217/https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2020/05/13/former-attorney-fred-tokars-dies-in-prison-28-years-after-arranging-wifes-murder/https://www.ajc.com/news/local/opinion-maybe-wife-killer-fred-tokars-got-fate-worse-than-death/PbgkmWIwbkkvFTQoNczcSK/https://hmichaelharvey.medium.com/tokars-the-breaking-bad-snitch-dies-in-prison-e0dead8f0af6https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/friends-feel-renewed-sadness-sons-metro-atlanta-man-who-had-wife-murdered/6MIDSIC7TBCFXHCPIG55X6Q76A/https://www.frettholdandhamp.com/obituary/Michael-Tokarshttps://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/fred-tokars-who-hired-hitman-to-kill-wife-sara-tokars-dieshttps://people.com/crime/fred-tokars-mastermind-killing-wife-1992-dies-prison/