Levi Aron, 35, arrested after dismembered remains of missing Leiby Kletzky, 8, found in his freezer, trash can. Police believe suspect strangled boy to death. Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community in shock
A Brooklyn man was arrested Wednesday after the dismembered remains of a boy who had gotten lost two days earlier were found in the man’s freezer and trash container, police said.
New York police officials suspect 35-year-old Levi Aron was behind the gruesome murder of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, saying they believe he strangled the boy to death before dismembering his body.
Dismembered remains of Leiby Kletzky, 8, missing since Monday afternoon found in Park Slope; Police interview person of interest
Kletzky was meant to meet his family on Monday on his walk home from day camp in Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood but never arrived.
A search by police and members of the neighborhood’s tightly knit Orthodox Jewish community led authorities to the apartment of suspect Levi Aron early on Wednesday, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly at a news conference.
Rumors soon began to spread within the Hasidic community in town that the boy’s family was acquainted with the suspect, saying Aron was even a guest at the victim’s family home last Saturday.
When detectives arrived at Aron’s attic apartment, they asked him where the boy was and he nodded toward the kitchen, Kelly said.
Detectives saw blood on the freezer door and they opened it to discover bloody knives, a cutting board and feet inside, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of the body was found inside a red suitcase that had been tossed into a trash bin in another Brooklyn neighborhood, police said.
Police and volunteers had been looking since late Monday afternoon for Leiby, who disappeared while on his way to meet his mother in the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park.
The break in the case came when investigators focused on a grainy surveillance video that showed the boy walking down the street with a man. The boy is shown in the footage getting into Aron’s brown Honda sedan about 35 minutes later.
Aron was a familiar face around the neighborhood’s tightly knit Orthodox Jewish community.
“I prayed with him on several occasions… There were all sorts of rumors about him,” said Israel Farkash, an Israeli expat living in the Brooklyn community. “Some of the rumors claimed he had a criminal record linked to sexual offences.”
Aron’s co-workers were also shocked to learn the news. “He was a strange guy but he was here yesterday acting normal, as if he didn’t murder that little boy,” remarked a co-worker.
“We’re deeply shocked,” explained Farkash. “People don’t understand how this sort of thing happened here. There are over 150,000 Jews in this neighborhood alone, walking around free and fearless.”
Farkash believes his fellow community members are especially shaken by the fact that this murder was allegedly committed by “one of their own.”
“People are unwilling to digest the situation especially due to the background of the suspects involved. It’s not some kind of stranger but Orthodox Jews,” added Farkash.
Butcher of Brooklyn Levi Aron admits how he killed 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky in chilling confession
NY Daily News
Hardware store clerk Levi Aron, who was charged Wednesday night with brutally murdering 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, gave cops a chilling confession, describing in graphic detail how he suffocated the child with a bath towel and carved up the body in a “panic.”
Leiby vanished early Monday evening while walking home from a Borough Park day camp alone for the first time. Police said that even though he had practiced the route, he got lost and approached Aron for help.
In his confession, posted on the Web site of NBC New York, Aron spun a bizarre and improbable tale, claiming he simply offered to give Leiby a lift to a Jewish bookstore, then invited him to a wedding in upstate Monsey.
Excerpts of Aron’s confession to police:
“He asked me for a ride to the Judaica Book store. While on the way, he changed his mind and wasn’t sure where he wanted to go. So I asked if he wanted to go for the ride – a wedding in Monsey – since I didn’t think I was going to stay for the whole thing since my back was hurting. He said OK.”
“Due to traffic, I got back around 11:30 p.m. … so I brought him to my house, thinking I’d bring him to his house the next day. He watched TV, then fell asleep in the front room. I went to the middle room to sleep. That next morning, he was still sleeping when I was ready to leave. So I woke him and told him ‘I’ll bring him to his house’… when I saw the flyers I panicked and was afraid.”
“When I got home he was still there so I made him a tuna sandwich.”
“I was still in a panic … and afraid to bring him home. That is when I went for a towel to smother him in the side room. He fought back a little.”
“Afterwards, I panicked because I didn’t know what to do with the body.”
“… [I] carried parts to the back room, placing parts between the freezer and the refrigerator.”
“I understand it may be wrong, and I’m sorry for the hurt that I have caused.”
