Hidden_Mickey
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http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...letzky_8_found_in_dumpster_in_park_slope.html
I cannot wrap my brain around this. It's just horrific. I hope this guy never sees sunlight again.
A Brooklyn hardware store clerk was charged Wednesday night with the murder and butchery of an 8-year-old boy who got lost walking home from day camp and asked him for help.
Cops found little Leiby Kletzky's feet in the freezer at the home of suspect Levi Aron - and the rest of his body in a trash bin two miles away.
Aron was taken into custody at 2:40 a.m. in his blood-splattered attic apartment on E. Second St. in Kensington. It was his 35th birthday.
He was charged with murder 16 hours later, although the cause of Leiby's death has not been determined.
Leiby, who lived in Borough Park, encountered Aron early Monday evening while heading home from day camp without his parents for the first time.
"It was just happenstance, and a terrible fate for this young boy," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
When the cops who tracked Aron to his home asked him where the missing boy was, the suspect nodded to his kitchen.
In the otherwise empty fridge, cops found three bloody carving knives and a cutting board. The boy's feet were in ziplock bags in the freezer.
Other body parts were found wrapped in black plastic garbage bags stuffed in a red suitcase inside a Dumpster in Greenwood Heights, Kelly said.
Police said Aron, who is an Orthodox Jew like his victim, confessed to killing Leiby in "a panic" after seeing numerous missing-person flyers and search parties in the neighborhood.
"He doesn't know why he did it," said one police source. "He has no excuse."
Aron is a divorced loner described by acquaintances as "slow" but not - until now - dangerous.
Kelly said the investigation has found no evidence that Leiby was molested before he was killed.
Autopsy results were not in, but police sources said Aron told cops he suffocated the boy death in the apartment, then cut him up.
There were signs he was tied up with rope.
Police believe the murder happened Monday, but Aron said he killed the boy Tuesday, when he came home from work for lunch.
"He tells police he killed the kid in a panic, with all the attention on the case. He said there was no way out but to kill the kid and hide the body," said a source close to the case.
Coworkers at Empire State Building Supply, the hardware store a block from Aron's home, said they didn't notice anything unusual about his behavior Tuesday.
Leiby was last seen alive around 5:30 p.m. Monday.
The boy had asked his parents to let him walk the seven blocks home alone from summer camp at Yeshiva Boyan School, on 44th between 12th and 13th Avenues.
They compromised: he was to meet his mom halfway at the corner of 13th Ave. and 50th St.
But as she waited for her son, the child seems to have gone way off course.
A surveillance camera captured him around 5:30 p.m. about a block from a dentist's office on 18th Ave. near Dahill Road on the border of Kensington and Borough Park.
Footage showed the boy asking directions from Aron, who was going into the dentist's office.
Kelly said the video showed Leiby waited seven minutes for Aron to come out of the office, then followed him to his 1990 Honda Accord and got in.
"It's very sad. The boy looks like he just found somebody who's going to help him find his way home," said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Detectives located dentist Manis Berger at his New Jersey home Tuesday night and learned name of a man who had arrived at that time to pay a bill with a credit card, Kelly said.
"I'm glad I was able to help," Berger said. "I feel bad (for the family). It's a terrible situation."
Another dentist and a receptionist at the office helped cops find the suspect's name and address in their files, Kelly said.
Volunteers of the local Shomrim patrol canvassed the neighborhood, spotted the Honda Accord and gave police the license plate. The car was registered to Aron.
The suspect was collared 40 minutes later.
"They went through backyards with their guns out. They knocked on the door, and I heard a noise as they busted down the door," a neighbor said of the early morning bust.
When officers arrived at Aron's attic apartment they found his front door ajar and the suspect standing shirtless inside.
Near the blood-streaked fridge, cops also found a plastic garbage bag filled with bloody towels.
Police said Aron's only previous run-in with the NYPD was a summons for urinating in public last year.
Browne said a neighbor of the suspect reported that Aron tried to give her young son a ride in his car last year. The mom told police she thought little of it the time, assuming he was "just being friendly," Browne said.
The macabre nature of the murder, and the visceral horror of a child killed by a random stranger he had approached for help, left the community reeling.
"Everyone is just beside themselves," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Borough Park).
"We've showed in the last two days what an incredible community this is. I don't think you can match this anywhere else," he said, referring to the massive search for the boy.
"But you know what, one of our people committed this dastardly act," he added.
Mayor Bloomberg called the murder "a stunning shock to our entire city."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes Borough Park, said he was "speechless and shocked."
Borough President Marty Markowitz said "anyone who would prey on a young child and murder them in such a violent and inhuman way can only be described as a mutant."
"This case unfortunately is a reminder that evil walks among us in our communities every day," Markowitz said.
Leiby's parents began sitting shiva Wednesday.
"They're distraught," said Simcha Bernath, head of the Borough Park Shomrim.
Leiby's father, Nachman Kletzky, huddled in his home with four rabbis while his wife rested for the first time since her son went missing.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said that as the grandfather of 16, his heart went out to the Leiby's parents.
"I promise that I will ensure that we bring justice to his memory," Hynes said.
At Park Slope Auto Repairs, the owner of the Dumpster some body parts were found in, owner Rosso Safia set up a memorial then left work early.
"He's devastated over what happened," said an employee. "He put those candles up and left. He didn't want to talk to nobody."
I cannot wrap my brain around this. It's just horrific. I hope this guy never sees sunlight again.
A Brooklyn hardware store clerk was charged Wednesday night with the murder and butchery of an 8-year-old boy who got lost walking home from day camp and asked him for help.
Cops found little Leiby Kletzky's feet in the freezer at the home of suspect Levi Aron - and the rest of his body in a trash bin two miles away.
Aron was taken into custody at 2:40 a.m. in his blood-splattered attic apartment on E. Second St. in Kensington. It was his 35th birthday.
He was charged with murder 16 hours later, although the cause of Leiby's death has not been determined.
Leiby, who lived in Borough Park, encountered Aron early Monday evening while heading home from day camp without his parents for the first time.
"It was just happenstance, and a terrible fate for this young boy," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
When the cops who tracked Aron to his home asked him where the missing boy was, the suspect nodded to his kitchen.
In the otherwise empty fridge, cops found three bloody carving knives and a cutting board. The boy's feet were in ziplock bags in the freezer.
Other body parts were found wrapped in black plastic garbage bags stuffed in a red suitcase inside a Dumpster in Greenwood Heights, Kelly said.
Police said Aron, who is an Orthodox Jew like his victim, confessed to killing Leiby in "a panic" after seeing numerous missing-person flyers and search parties in the neighborhood.
"He doesn't know why he did it," said one police source. "He has no excuse."
Aron is a divorced loner described by acquaintances as "slow" but not - until now - dangerous.
Kelly said the investigation has found no evidence that Leiby was molested before he was killed.
Autopsy results were not in, but police sources said Aron told cops he suffocated the boy death in the apartment, then cut him up.
There were signs he was tied up with rope.
Police believe the murder happened Monday, but Aron said he killed the boy Tuesday, when he came home from work for lunch.
"He tells police he killed the kid in a panic, with all the attention on the case. He said there was no way out but to kill the kid and hide the body," said a source close to the case.
Coworkers at Empire State Building Supply, the hardware store a block from Aron's home, said they didn't notice anything unusual about his behavior Tuesday.
Leiby was last seen alive around 5:30 p.m. Monday.
The boy had asked his parents to let him walk the seven blocks home alone from summer camp at Yeshiva Boyan School, on 44th between 12th and 13th Avenues.
They compromised: he was to meet his mom halfway at the corner of 13th Ave. and 50th St.
But as she waited for her son, the child seems to have gone way off course.
A surveillance camera captured him around 5:30 p.m. about a block from a dentist's office on 18th Ave. near Dahill Road on the border of Kensington and Borough Park.
Footage showed the boy asking directions from Aron, who was going into the dentist's office.
Kelly said the video showed Leiby waited seven minutes for Aron to come out of the office, then followed him to his 1990 Honda Accord and got in.
"It's very sad. The boy looks like he just found somebody who's going to help him find his way home," said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Detectives located dentist Manis Berger at his New Jersey home Tuesday night and learned name of a man who had arrived at that time to pay a bill with a credit card, Kelly said.
"I'm glad I was able to help," Berger said. "I feel bad (for the family). It's a terrible situation."
Another dentist and a receptionist at the office helped cops find the suspect's name and address in their files, Kelly said.
Volunteers of the local Shomrim patrol canvassed the neighborhood, spotted the Honda Accord and gave police the license plate. The car was registered to Aron.
The suspect was collared 40 minutes later.
"They went through backyards with their guns out. They knocked on the door, and I heard a noise as they busted down the door," a neighbor said of the early morning bust.
When officers arrived at Aron's attic apartment they found his front door ajar and the suspect standing shirtless inside.
Near the blood-streaked fridge, cops also found a plastic garbage bag filled with bloody towels.
Police said Aron's only previous run-in with the NYPD was a summons for urinating in public last year.
Browne said a neighbor of the suspect reported that Aron tried to give her young son a ride in his car last year. The mom told police she thought little of it the time, assuming he was "just being friendly," Browne said.
The macabre nature of the murder, and the visceral horror of a child killed by a random stranger he had approached for help, left the community reeling.
"Everyone is just beside themselves," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Borough Park).
"We've showed in the last two days what an incredible community this is. I don't think you can match this anywhere else," he said, referring to the massive search for the boy.
"But you know what, one of our people committed this dastardly act," he added.
Mayor Bloomberg called the murder "a stunning shock to our entire city."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes Borough Park, said he was "speechless and shocked."
Borough President Marty Markowitz said "anyone who would prey on a young child and murder them in such a violent and inhuman way can only be described as a mutant."
"This case unfortunately is a reminder that evil walks among us in our communities every day," Markowitz said.
Leiby's parents began sitting shiva Wednesday.
"They're distraught," said Simcha Bernath, head of the Borough Park Shomrim.
Leiby's father, Nachman Kletzky, huddled in his home with four rabbis while his wife rested for the first time since her son went missing.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said that as the grandfather of 16, his heart went out to the Leiby's parents.
"I promise that I will ensure that we bring justice to his memory," Hynes said.
At Park Slope Auto Repairs, the owner of the Dumpster some body parts were found in, owner Rosso Safia set up a memorial then left work early.
"He's devastated over what happened," said an employee. "He put those candles up and left. He didn't want to talk to nobody."
