Man gets 22-year prison sentence for strangling wife, stuffing body in 55-gallon drum in NJ

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – A northern New Jersey man who strangled his wife and stuffed her body in a 55-gallon drum has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Hudson County prosecutors say 40-year-old Steven Acuna killed his 32-year-old wife, Randy "Amanda" Lehrer, after a fight at their Jersey City Heights home in August 2011.

Authorities have said Acuna filled the 55-gallon drum with cement after he put Lehrer's body inside. The following month, investigators found the drum in the basement of the building where the couple lived.

Acuna pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in October.

The couple had a daughter who is now 3 years old.