The mother of Amanda Overstreet, the 16-year-old who disappeared in 2005 and whose remains were found in a freezer at her family's Colorado home in January, spoke about the discovery, saying it was a shock to her, too.
Leanne Imer told Newsweek in a phone call that she had no idea Overstreet's head and hands were in the chest freezer in the garage of her Grand Junction home on Pinyon Avenue that she shared with her husband, Bradley Imer.
Bradley Imer died from complications of COVID-19 in July 2021.
In January, the new owners of the home listed freezers left behind by the previous owners, the Imers, for free on Facebook. Upon taking meat out of one freezer, they found human remains, which through DNA testing were confirmed this month to be Overstreet.
Overstreet was last seen in 2005 but never reported missing, the Mesa County Sheriff's Office said. No arrests have been made in Overstreet's death or the discovery of her remains.
"The sheriff's office described the bag she was in, and I'm like, 'I've seen that bag.' It would be our cruiser," Leanne Imer told Newsweek, saying she cooperated with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.
"We ate meat out of that freezer," she said while sobbing over where Overstreet was found. "There was chicken, pork and other meats that were in the freezer, and we ate that."
Overstreet's case has amassed a large online following from true-crime fans seeking justice for the teen.
Leanne Imer said she has received dozens of online threats accusing her of being involved in Overstreet's death but has cooperated with law enforcement on multiple occasions.
"Investigators have spoken with Mrs. Imer several times. The investigation is still open and active," the Mesa County Sheriff's Office said in an email to Newsweek on Friday. "To preserve the integrity of the investigation, we are unable to provide any other details regarding the case at this time."
Amanda Overstreet Adopted
Leanne Imer told Newsweek that Overstreet was adopted by her grandmother, Nelda Overstreet, and grandfather, James Overstreet, in Texas when Amanda was 3.
When Nelda Overstreet was ill with cancer in late 2004, Amanda returned to live with the Imers at a different Grand Junction address than where her remains were found
Nelda Overstreet died in July 2005. In her obituary, Amanda Overstreet and Leanne Imer are listed as Nelda's daughters.
Amanda Overstreet Allegedly Ran Away
Leanne Imer said that in April 2005, Bradley Imer said he would take Overstreet back to Texas to live with her grandfather. The plan was that they would meet Imer's aunt in Dallas and she would take Amanda to live with her grandfather, but the plan allegedly went awry.
"What he told me was that they had just gotten into Amarillo and that she [Overstreet] started fighting in the car, and he pulled off the highway because it was unsafe," Leanne Imer said.
"He pulled off on the side of the road. She got out, walked off, flipped him off, and walked around the corner. He said that he waited there for a few minutes, then drove around the corner to follow her, and couldn't find her."
"The way he described it, it was vivid. I mean, I could see it happening," Leanne Imer said. "I had no reason to question him."
Leanne Imer said Bradley Imer told her he waited for Amanda at a nearby barbecue restaurant for several hours before calling Imer's aunt to inform her of what happened.
"He talked to my aunt, and he said, 'Screw this crap. You deal with this,' and he came back to Colorado,'' Leanne Imer told Newsweek.
Leanne Imer said she wanted to call the police to report Amanda missing but that Bradley Imer told her that only Overstreet's legal parent, her grandfather, could do so.
"I believed when he said that he talked to my aunt. I believed that my aunt had talked to my dad. I had no reason to not believe him," Leanne Imer said.
'Living Her Best Life'
Leanne Imer said she assumed for years that Amanda was somewhere "living her best life" but would one day call her about a major life event. The phone never rang.
"When she's 18, she'll contact us," Leanne Imer recalled telling herself. "And then I thought if she gets married, she'll contact us. As time went on, I began to think, gosh, I guess she just hates me so much that she didn't want anything to do with me.
"So I said, OK, if that's what I have to live with so that she can have a good life, I'll just suffer in silence. But she sat there [in the freezer] every day," Leanne Imer said, crying.
Bradley Imer's Legal Issues
In 2002, Arizona authorities arrested Bradley Imer on drug possession, trafficking and DUI charges after pulling him over for alleged erratic driving, according to online court records.
Police said they found methamphetamine and eight illegal guns in his vehicle.
Bradley Imer struck a plea deal, resulting in probation, with eight of the nine charges dropped.
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