5 chilling details about Sarah Mclinn’s case ahead of Snapped

Snapped returns to a case that still draws attention. The episode looks at Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, convicted in Kansas for the 2014 killing of Hal Sasko, and the events that led to that verdict. Court rulings, sentencing changes, and a clemency bid have kept the case in the news long after the first broadcast.

The re-air on Oxygen is scheduled for Friday, September 26. The episode first aired on January 22, 2017, as season 19 episode 9, titled Sarah McLinn.

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Case background before Snapped

At 19, Gonzales-McLinn was living in Lawrence with Sasko, who was 52. She had worked at one of his pizza restaurants and later moved into his home. A Douglas County jury found her guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.

A Douglas County jury returned a first-degree murder verdict (Image via Pexels)

The trial featured a mental disease or defect defense that jurors rejected. A judge imposed a hard 50-year life sentence. Years later, that minimum term was reduced to a hard 25. Her earliest possible release date without clemency is February 1, 2039.

The facts of the killing were never in dispute. What has driven the ongoing debate are allegations about the relationship inside the home, what jurors did or did not hear, and whether clemency should apply.

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5 key details about the case ahead of Snapped

1) The crime scene was bound, silent, and final

Investigators documented the word freedom written in blood at the scene (Image via Unsplash)

Investigators said Sasko was found with wrists and ankles zip-tied and his throat cut. On a wall, the word “FREEDOM” was written in blood. These details came out at trial and sentencing and framed the brutality jurors weighed, according to the Lawrence Journal-World (September 2015).

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2) Allegations of grooming and control preceded the killing

Reporting describes a pattern that allegedly began when she was a teen worker and deepened after she moved in. Debt tallies, cosmetic surgeries she said she did not want, and coerced sex are all part of the record advocates cite. The Kansas City Star reported these claims, as well as the financial and psychological leverage described by supporters of clemency.

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3) Jurors never heard the full abuse evidence

A closed-door discussion before trial narrowed what the jury would hear. The prosecution argued the alleged abuse would create sympathy, and the court limited it during the guilt phase. The defense centered on dissociative identity disorder, which the jury did not accept. Kansas Reflector reported on these trial contours and post-trial disputes over strategy and evidence access.

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4) Trauma accounts continued inside prison

A former cellmate described ongoing nightmares while incarcerated (Image via Unsplash)

A former cellmate described nightly nightmares and distress that, in her view, reflected long-term trauma. According to The Lawrence Times, advocacy presentations in Lawrence and Topeka amplified those accounts while urging a clemency review.

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5) The clemency push has a defined timeline

Advocates filed a clemency application in December 2022 and organized community events in May 2024. Public statements from guests on KCUR’s Up To Date outlined the request and urged attention, noting that the earliest release date without clemency is years away. KCUR summarized the timeline and stated that the application is currently being reviewed.

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The Snapped episode, Sarah McLinn, is listed as S19.E9. It is available to stream on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, fuboTV, NBC, Oxygen, YouTube TV, and Hulu. Episodes of Snapped are also available to purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Fandango At Home. Spectrum On Demand lists select Snapped episodes for free.

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