News: Suspect Charged for Killing Brooklyn Boy
(Long Island, N.Y.) As part of his bizarre confession, the thirty-five-year-old killer of a nine-year-old boy from Borough Park, Brooklyn also claimed that he and the boy slept in separate rooms prior to the murder. One source claimed that the killer enjoyed hanging out in playgrounds. According to his Facebook page, the killer had 225 friends and listed American Idol among his interests. The boy, Leiby Kletzky, was to turn nine years old in the upcoming weeks, and the killer, Levi Aron, had a birthday in recent days.
Reports also stated that the killer may be given a psychiatric exam and will be tested at Bellevue Hospital. Prior to the discovery of the boy’s remains, the reward for his safe return reached up to $125,000. The FBI also aided in the investigation, and video footage was released capturing the boy speaking to his killer after asking him for directions.
One source claimed that the boy had lost his way within the seven blocks from the day camp and the spot where he was supposed to meet his mother. Video surveillance footage shows the boy walking by himself, speaking to the killer, and following the killer in the opposite direction. He had waited seven minutes for the killer to return from a nearby dentist office where he proceeded to pay a bill for someone else.
The boy, who usually takes the bus home, insisted on walking by himself. His mother went over the route with him prior to that Monday afternoon, but the nine-year-old was a considerable distance off-track when his killer approached him. Police were able to track down the killer by matching the timing of his errand at the dentist’s office with what was shown on surveillance footage.
The dentist was tracked down at his home in New Jersey, and police were able to locate the killer with the help of records and the dentist’s receptionist. The rendezvous where the boy was supposed to meet his mother was halfway between the day camp and his home. The boy was the second eldest of five siblings and his parents’ only son.
The boy’s father works in a private car service, and reports stated that the boy had never walked home alone prior to the incident. By the time that footage was captured on 45th St. and 18th Ave. and at the Dahill Road intersection, the boy was clearly lost. Reports stated that the killer lived around the block from Public School 17 on E. Second Street in Brooklyn.
The boy’s body was found early Wednesday morning dismembered in a dumpster in Sunset Park. It was taken away at 6:45 in the morning on 20th Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenue. It was discovered outside an auto-body shop in Greenwood Heights, with the rest of it found inside the killer’s home in Kensington.
The remains found in the dumpster were inside a red suitcase and wrapped with a black trash bag. Reports stated that, in addition to the killer, two men and one woman were taken from his home and placed into police custody. The killer worked as a hardware store employee at Empire Supply, and was accosted by police at 2:40 in the morning.
Sources claimed that the boy’s body was discovered just as workers were planning to put billboards along the BQE and Prospect Expressway. The killer allegedly moved from Tennessee to Brooklyn after his divorce and had no children of his own. He lived in his attic apartment for two years and was considered a loner.
He went to work on Tuesday, the day after police believe he murdered the nine-year-old boy, and showed no distinct sign of his distress. Some of his co-workers claimed that he was known to flip out during instances where he was the butt of jokes. He allegedly joined a group entitled “Is your family safe? Find out who really lives in your area.”
Surveillance video does not show the boy entering the killer’s vehicle, but after the killer enters the car, the boy is no longer seen. When asked where the boy was located, the killer pointed to his kitchen where blood was found on the refrigerator handle, kitchen knives, and cutting board. Nothing else but the boy’s remains was found inside the refrigerator.
Though the killer lived just a mile away from the boy, there is no evidence that he knew the boy prior to the incident. When asked for an explanation, the killer offered no excuse for the murder and claimed he didn’t know why he did it.
