197: Childhood Friends & the Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr

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Initially, Sarah Stern’s disappearance looked like a suicide. Her car had been found abandoned on a bridge. On the day she went missing, she gave a box of keepsakes to a neighbor. Her best friend, Liam McAtasney, confirmed to police that Sarah had been depressed. She’d told him she wanted to “get away.” But Sarah’s family and other friends told a different story. For one, she would never have left her beloved dog unattended. Secondly, she wasn’t depressed at all.

Then Kristin tells us about the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Junior. Barry Keenan was down on his luck. He was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and for the first time in his life, he was broke. He needed money, fast. So he hatched a plan to kidnap Bob Hope’s son. But Bob Hope seemed so nice. He was always entertaining the troops! Kidnapping Bob Hope’s son would be positively un-American. So Barry decided to kidnap Frank Sinatra’s son, instead.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“Snatching Sinatra” by Peter Gilstrap for The New Times Los Angeles Magazine 1998
“‘Son of Sam’ law upheld in Sinatra kidnapper’s movie deal,” Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press
“Frank Sinatra, Jr., kidnapping,” FBI.gov
“Kidnapping ordeal tested family ties,” by J. Randy Taraborrelli for Arizona Republic, Nov 26, 1997
“Court asked to overturn ban on felons selling stories,” by Robert Jabion for the Associated Press, December 7, 2001
“Both Sinatras due to testify soon,” by Ridgely Cummings for Civic Center News Agency, Feb 27 1964
“Perjury enters Sinatra case as witness changes his story,” UPI, Feb 25, 1964
“Frank Sinatra, Jr., denies kidnapping publicity stunt,” Associated Press, Feb 29, 1964
“Sinatra could go, defendant claims,” Associated Press, March 3, 1964
“Sinatra-abduction case goes to jury,” Associated Press, March 7, 1964
“Jury gets Sinatra kidnap case,” Associated Press, March 7, 1964

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Sarah Stern” chillingcrimes.com
“With Friends Like These” episode 20/20
“Sarah Stern murder: Suspect said she wanted to run away, had suicidal past” by Kathleen Hopkins, Asbury Park Press
“Sarah Stern murder: No new trial for Liam McAtasney” by Kathleen Hopkins, Asbury Park Press
“Friend Who Killed 19-Year-Old New Jersey Student Sarah Stern Gets Life Without Parole- Plus 10 Years” by Brian Thompson, NBC New York News
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