Four charged after West Ridge man beaten to death, body dumped

A teenager, his sister, her boyfriend and a juvenile have all been charged in connection with the fatal beating of a man whose body was tossed in a dumpster near his North Side West Ridge neighborhood home in December.

Shawndre Lehmann, 17, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 64-year-old Cary “Mike” Silverstein, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. Lehman was 16 at the time of the murder.

Lehmann’s sister, 25-year-old Shatara Lehmann, was charged with concealment of homicidal death, according to Chicago Police. Lehmann’s boyfriend, 28-year-old Alexander Robinson, and another boy were also charged with first-degree murder.

Silverstein hosted a birthday party at his apartment in the 6500 block of North Hoyne about 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10, 2015, according to prosecutors. The victim got into an argument with Robinson after saying derogatory things to his girlfriend, Shatara Lehmann, prosecutors said.

Robinson punched Silverstein in the face, then left the apartment to cool off. He later returned, and soon after, Shatara Lehmann’s brother Shawndre Lehmann and another person arrived at the party, prosecutors said.

Shawndre Lehmann, Robinson and the juvenile all began punching, kicking and striking Silverstein with a metal frying pan. They eventually beat him to death, then made a plan to dispose of his body, prosecutors said.

Shatara Lehmann cleaned up the blood with water and bleach, and washed the frying pan, prosecutors said. Shawndre Lehmann and the others took off Silverstein’s clothes, tried to wash his body in the bathroom, then placed his body in two large garbage bags formed into a “makeshift body bag,” prosecutors said.

Lehman then took the body and put it in a nearby Dumpster, while the other two acted as lookouts, prosecutors said.

As of Wednesday, Silverstein’s body has not been recovered.

Flood Waste Company, which handles trash collection in the neighborhood, said garbage from bins in the area is initially taken to a transfer station in Maywood. From there, it would have been taken to a landfill in either Rochelle or Rockford. Both landfills handle millions of pounds of garbage every day.

Silverstein’s family filed a missing person report Dec. 16. He had previously talked to his sister almost daily, prosecutors said, but she last spoke to him the day of the murder.

Detectives examined Silverstein’s apartment for blood, and traces were found in the kitchen and bathroom, prosecutors said. Several people had been living with Silverstein prior to his disappearance, and one of them implicated Shawndre Lehmann and the three others.

Robinson and both Lehmanns admitted to their participating in the murder and/or coverup, prosecutors said.

Robinson has a daughter, and Shatara Lehmann has three children, ages 5, 2 and 1, an assistant public defender said at their bond hearing Thursday. Her three children are now in DCFS custody.

Shawndre Lehmann, of the 500 block of North Lockwood; and Robinson, of the 400 block of North Drake, were each ordered held on $1 million bonds.

Shatara Lehmann, of the 3000 block of North Gresham, was ordered held on a $300,000 bond, but may qualify for electronic monitoring, prosecutors said.

Court information for the juvenile was not available.

Shatara Lehmann | Chicago Police