Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Drum of cement held mom's remains; husband charged

    JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A woman whose remains were found inside a 55-gallon cement-filled drum in her apartment building might have been strangled by her husband, authorities said Sunday.

    Randy "Amanda" Lehrer was last seen Aug. 17 leaving the diner where she worked, and investigators believe she was killed shortly afterward, Hudson County prosecutor Edward DeFazio told The Jersey Journal.

    Her husband, Steven Acuna, was charged with her murder and remained jailed Sunday on $1 million bail. Lehrer's remains were found Friday in the basement of the apartment building where the couple and their infant daughter lived.

    Investigators believe the killing was the result of domestic violence, DeFazio said. He told the newspaper that when investigators found the barrel, it was hidden by construction-type debris. He said Lehrer's remains were found "encased" in concrete, adding that there was no evidence that she was dismembered.

    "It is almost like she was bent, folded," DeFazio said.

    Acuna had said his 32-year-old wife went missing after they argued outside the diner where they both worked. After Lehrer disappeared, he relocated about 50 miles south to Toms River after Lehrer disappeared, and he was arrested there Friday.

    He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday on the murder charges, and it wasn't immediately clear if Acuna had retained an attorney. DeFazio wouldn't say whether Acuna had told investigators anything about the case before he was arrested.

    About 200 people gathered Saturday evening for a candlelight vigil held outside Lehrer's apartment building. Those attending placed numerous items outside the site, including flowers, memorial posters and balloons carrying messages such as "God Loves You."

    The couple's 11-month-old daughter was placed in the care of her paternal grandfather shortly after Lehrer, a native of Montreal, disappeared, but DeFazio said Sunday that he wasn't sure if the man was still caring for the girl.

     

    698 comments

    • Chef John Paul  •  8 mths ago
      Whatever happen to divorce? He had a serious case of Shut a #$%$ Up not trying to be funny in one act he ended 3 lives his, hers, and their child. If you can't take it just walk away, that seems so simple but now a days couples look at their relationship as ownership instead of a civil union. Peace be unto Amanda may your essence be a guidance for your baby.
      • Semellyecoli2 8 mths ago
        Involves too many lawyers !!
      • Anonymous 8 mths ago
        These kind of males ( not Men) need control so badly that leaving them makes them crazy and more likely to kill. Unfortunately, their spouses know this and many victims of domestic violence stay as long as they do for fear of their lives!
    • Bill Jutz  •  8 mths ago
      What is so #$%$ funny about Domestic abuse and murder! America is going down the toilet because of stupid people. I fail to see the humor in this story.
      • dontWiretapMeBro 8 mths ago
        So no one else is allowed to?
      • God's adopted child 8 mths ago
        I agree Bill people don't care and thats a shame.
      • clownluv 8 mths ago
        funny as #$%$ because the #$%$ media lets every one know about it not like 30 yrs ago
    • Peter  •  8 mths ago
      Remember thaHippie type guy who put his GF in a trunk and kept it for like two years and went to France ?
      • eisenhower 8 mths ago
        EINHORN??
      • Darlene 8 mths ago
        @ Peter. That was Ira Einhorn. Remember that the Seagram's Liquor family ( The Bronfmans) paid for his court fees etc. I believe he went all over Europe as well because he was given money by the billionaire Bronfmans. He also was involved with the initial Earth Day in 1970.
      • Aurora P 8 mths ago
        And France keeps him there, not in jail, because we convicted him of murder in absentia (he was absent).
    • elisabeth  •  8 mths ago
      Lots of women killed in horrid ways. Men do not lack imagination when it comes to killing. I am glad I do not date.
      • Cant stop once I've s ... 8 mths ago
        Are you sure its not bacause you look like Louie Lou I?
      • scott54 8 mths ago
        I am not sure I would date if I were a woman...men are violent...and I am one.
      • Michael 8 mths ago
        Are you saying you WOULD date, if a man had imagination??
    • Hal S  •  8 mths ago
      Cement overshoes, I've heard of. Jimmy Hoffa, they never found. This dufus thought he would get away with wacking his wife, but left her body in the building they occupied together. Good thing criminals keep getting dumber. They're easier to apprehend.
      • C 8 mths ago
        Yeah thank God, dropping that cement barrel in the ocean would have been another unsolved mystery for the police. I wonder how they discovered the body was in it though? Maybe a dog picked up on the scent?
      • art h 8 mths ago
        Or some genius said, "Hmmm wonder what he's doing carrying around #$%$ gallon drum full of concrete?" Seems a bit odd.
    • bbalwet  •  8 mths ago
      Have you ever tried to move #$%$ gallon drum filled with cement? Good luck.
    • Angela Cole  •  8 mths ago
      A little girl will grow up with no mother, and a father who killed her....TRAGIC!!!!
    • Lauren  •  8 mths ago
      Now let's see if the husband tries to claim that this was a suicide...
    • chitos  •  8 mths ago
      what can you say? I'm at a loss for words! R.I.P
    • Arfy The Dog  •  8 mths ago
      the death penalty was never meant to be a deterrent.
      it is meant to rid the world of a total POS.
      where warrented - a confession and/or solid evidence - it should be carried out ASAP with little fanfare or endless appeals.
    • kitty  •  8 mths ago
      "After Lehrer disappeared, he relocated about 50 miles south to Toms River after Lehrer disappeared..." Really? Did a 5th grader write this?
    • Get Real  •  8 mths ago
      How did they think to check out the cement? To much crazy Tv shows giving people ideas.
    • bubblebee  •  8 mths ago
      The Facebook Advertisment is really annoying.
    • sands of times  •  8 mths ago
      There are siick people living in this world!
    • Kevin  •  8 mths ago
      With all the back and forth debate as of recently about the death penalty I gotta say....NJ abolished the death penalty in 2007 and what that now means in the case of this monster is that the good tax paying people of the state of New Jersey will be paying to house and feed this monster for the rest of his life if he is found guilty. Good Riddance.
    • Yahoo User  •  8 mths ago
      I've said it before and I will say it again. America needs to get some balls. After they find this guy guilty, they need to bury his #$%$ and rest of the body alive in #$%$ gallon drum of cement. I'm tellin' ya. The old expression "an eye for an eye". You pull an OJ and almost cut off your ex's head, then you get your head cut off. You stab someone, the you get stabbed about 100x in non lethal spots on the body and bleed to death slowly (pour some salt in the wound). Trust me. People will think twice about killing someone. Heck, now they've got a 20 year appeal process for the death penalty. You notice that lawyers wrote the laws to drag it out for what seems like forever so they can benefit (job security). Keep going back for appeal after appeal after appeal. In hind sight, I have more respect for Timothy McVeigh for not milking the legal system. He got the death penalty within a few years. No appeals. He went through the quick check line. He didn't waste thousands or millions of taxpayer money on appeals. And for the record, that's the only thing he did that I approve. I'm sure there will be some people that will read more into this than what it is. Again, he didn't waste the tax payer money on appeals, or an additional 20 years housed in a prison cell that cost the states about $50k - $60k per year.
    • Stacy  •  8 mths ago
      What people can do to each other really makes me sick and even more makes me want to stay single!!
    • chuck  •  8 mths ago
      these posts just go to show you why the U.S. is in the toilet... at least half the population regardless of their political views are completely with out morals or brain cells
    • william  •  8 mths ago
      Reading these comments shows me that there are a lot of you who are nothing more than trash yourselves.
    • Brian  •  8 mths ago
      This is pretty horrible. What happens to a couple that love each other enough to get married and then have it end this way. I just don't understand what causes a coward to do something like this.
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]