The body of an 8-year-old Brooklyn, New York boy was found dismembered
early Wednesday morning. Some of the remain were found in Ziplock bags in a
freezer on the third floor attic of suspect Levi Aron's home and some were
found stuffed in a red suitcase inside a dumpster 2 miles away on the streets of
Greenwood Heights in Brooklyn.
Leiby Kletzky, the son of Orthodox Jewish parents, was last seen alive on Monday afternoon leaving his summer camp at Yeshiva Boyan School. He was supposed to meet his mother at the corner of 13th Avenue and 50th Street, several blocks from the camp.
"He'd asked his parents' permission to walk home alone and the parents were waiting outside," said Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne.
According to Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Leiby was lost in
Borough Park, Brooklyn, trying to find his way home when he met Aron - also an
Orthodox Jew. Investigators said the boy asked the 35-year-old for directions
and shortly after entered his 1990 Honda Accord.
Members in the Jewish community gathered over $100,000 in
reward for the return of the young boy only to discover that they were too late.
"I got a phone call in the early morning--and for a second, I thought he was going to be O.K., and then I started hearing the details; he was murdered," local Assembly member Dov Hikind told a New York Times reporter on Wednesday.
A partial transcript of Aron's confession was published by NBCNewYork.com on Wednesday. These are the suspect's words as written on a legal pad during questioning, according to law enforcement sources.
"When I saw the flyer, I panicked," said Aron. "When I got home he was there so I made him a tuna sandwich...I was still in panic...and afraid to bring him home. That is when approximately I went for a towel to smother him in the side room. He fought back a little bit until eventually he stopped breathing."
There is no evidence whether Leiby was sexually abused, but detectives are still investigating.
The suspect, whose only crime in New York was a summons for
public urination last year, was arrested at his home before dawn at 2:40 am Wednesday
morning. A receptionist at a dental
office gave authorities his name and address.
Leiby's funeral was held Wednesday night in a parking lot outside the Hechal Hatfila temple.
Aron was arraigned Thursday morning at the 67th Precinct station house.