Sarah McLinn, a 19-year-old woman from Kansas, made headlines when she was convicted of the murder of Harold “Hal” Sasko, a businessman living in Lawrence, Kansas. Hal owned three Cici’s Pizza restaurants in the area and was Sarah’s roommate at the time of the murder.
The tragic incident took place on January 17, 2014, when police officers were called to Sasko’s residence for a welfare check after he had been out of contact for several days. Upon arrival, authorities discovered Sasko’s lifeless body on the floor, bound with zip ties and with a deep cut to his neck. The crime scene was scattered with patches of blood, and three beer cans were found laced with sleeping pills.
Sarah McLinn was missing from the scene, leaving behind her phone on the kitchen counter. She was later apprehended on January 25, 2014, in the Everglades National Park in Florida, where she was found sleeping in a car belonging to Sasko.
The case was featured on an episode of “Snapped” titled “Sarah McLinn,” which aired in January 2017 and was re-broadcast in July 2025 on Oxygen.
Here are five key details about the crimes of Sarah McLinn:
1) Harold Sasko’s autopsy revealed a deep cut across his neck, indicating a brutal attack that nearly decapitated him.
2) Sarah McLinn was missing from the crime scene, along with Harold’s car and pet dog. She was eventually located in Florida, where she confessed to the murder.
3) Sarah McLinn admitted to the authorities that she had planned the murder in advance and carried it out with the intention of experiencing what it felt like to take someone’s life.
4) During the trial, Sarah’s defense claimed that she suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder, a condition stemming from childhood trauma, drug abuse, and se*ual abuse.
5) Sarah McLinn’s initial sentencing of 50 years to life was later reduced to 25 years to life after she testified that Sasko had se*ually abused her, leading to a retrial.
Despite the reduction in her sentence, Sarah McLinn remains incarcerated, with a possibility of parole in 2039. The case of Sarah McLinn serves as a tragic reminder of the complex and often harrowing realities that can lead to such heinous acts.
