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Sarah McLinn is a woman from Kansas who was charged with the murder of her 52-year-old boss and roommate, Harold “Hal” Sasko. It was on January 17, 2014, when police officers discovered Harold's body at her residence in Lawrence, Kansas. The victim was bound with zip ties, and investigators discovered several patches of blood throughout the crime scene.
When the body was sent for autopsy, authorities discovered that Harold Sasko died due to slicing and stabbing wounds around her neck. However, authorities also discovered that Sasko's roommate, Sarah McLinn, was also missing, along with the pet dog. When police officers discovered that Sarah's phone was on the kitchen countertop, they suspected that she had been kidnapped.
However, further into the investigation, authorities discovered that Sarah McLinn was the prime suspect behind the murder. Snapped, Season 19, Episode 9, explores the complete story of Sarah McLinn. The episode titled Sarah McLinn made its release on July 28, 2025, on Oxygen.
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What happened to Harold Sasko
As per the Court Records, it was on January 17, 2014, when police officials discovered the body of Harold Sasko inside his residence in Lawrence, Kansas. Reportedly, the victim's hands were tied with zip ties, with more zip ties scattered around the feet.
When investigators scrutinized the crime scene, they discovered several patches of blood spread across the entire house. Notably, the Snapped subject, Harold Sisko, had blood smeared on his head. Moreover, multiple beer cans were smeared, with three of the cans mixed with sleeping pills.
When Sasko's body was sent for an autopsy, forensics revealed that the victim had died from knife wounds across his neck. There were deep wounds on the neck, with some cutting through most of the soft tissue around the spine. The toxicology reports revealed that Harold had an intoxicating amount of sleeping pills in his system.
As reported by CBS, Harold was the owner of a company that managed Cici's pizza stores around Lawrence and Topeka. He was the boss and roommate of Sarah McLinn, who worked under him managing one of the Cici's stores. As per the Court Records, authorities discovered that Harold's car was missing from his residence.
Additionally, Sasko's 19-year-old roommate and employee, Sarah McLinn, was missing along with the pet dog. When Sarah's phone was discovered on the kitchen counter of the house, authorities suspected that she had been kidnapped.
Soon, a nationwide search operation was initiated by the police officials, primarily focusing on tracking down Harold Sasko's car. As per the court documents, it was on the morning of January 14, 2014, when Sasko's car was tracked down entering through the Kansas turnpike and making its exit through the turnpike near the Oklahoma border.
Later, the family of Sarah McLinn contacted the police officials, reporting that McLinn had called her grandmother. Authorities traced the calls from convenience stores on the road from Kansas to Texas. Soon, surveillance camera videos around the region were retrieved, where Sarah could be seen dialing the calls. Soon, authorities declared that Sarah McLinn was one of the prime suspects behind the murder of Harold Sasko.
As reported by CBS News, it was on January 24, 2014, when Harold Sisko's 2008 Nissan Altima was tracked at a campground at Everglades National Park in Dade County, Florida. Reportedly, Sarah McLinn was found sleeping inside the car with the dog. Soon, authorities concluded that McLinn had been staying inside the car at the park.
Investigation of Sarah McLinn's connection with Harold Sasko's murder
As reported by Court Documents, Sarah McLinn was taken into custody by the National Park Service. It was on January 26, 2014, when the Lawrence police bought McLinn for interrogation in Florida. Sarah confessed to killing Harold Sasko in front of the authorities. She revealed that she wanted to kill her boss and roommate, Harold, because she wanted to know what it feels like to kill someone.
Sarah McLinn revealed that she was planning to execute Sasko in advance, which included missing work and going out of town. Reportedly, she covered her absence and claimed to her coworkers that she had a death in her family. McLinn went on to explain that before killing Harold Sasko, she mixed crushed sleeping pills into his beer.
Sarah revealed that right after Sasko passed out and fell on the floor, McLinn tied his ankles and wrists with zip ties. Sarah McLinn then bought a hunting knife from Sasko's bedroom and positioned it near the victims' heads. As per the Court Documents, McLinn tracked down the victim's carotid artery, stabbed the knife deep into his neck, and then swung it into motion, which created a complete cut around the spine.
Sarah McLinn was arrested and charged with first-degree premeditated murder. However, he attorneys raised a defence claiming that the Snapped culprit McLinn was suffering from dissociative identity disorder.
As per the Court Documents, Dr. Marilyn Hutchinson provided an extensive testimony of Sarah's mental history, which included alcohol and drug abuse, childhood trauma, and se*ual abuse she experienced in the past.
As per The Lawrence Times, it was in September 2015, when Sarah McLinn was found guilty of the murder of Harold Sisko. She was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. It was in May 2021 that Sarah's sentence was reduced to 25 years after she accepted a plea-like agreement, in which she gave up most of her rights to appeal.
Sarah further testified that Harold Sasko had abused her, keeping her in a drugged state of financial and se*ual slavery for more than a year. The Kansas Department of Corrections revealed that McLinn was eligible for parole on February 1, 2039.
Check out our other articles to learn more details about other cases on Snapped.
