Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Report: Not First Kidnapping Attempt for Man Charged in Kletzky Murder

The man charged in the murder of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky reportedly tried to kidnap other boys.

A woman who lives three doors from Levi Aron in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn told the New York Post over the weekend that the confessed killer tried to kidnap her son in the last two years, but that she screamed, scaring him away.

The iPad news publication The Daily reported that Aron tried and failed to kidnap another boy a week before the Leiby Kletzky murder.

Aron likely will be indicted next week on murder and kidnapping charges, an unnamed source in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office told the NY1 television station.

His attorney reportedly said Aron hears voices. He underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation over the weekend.

The family of the boy, which is sitting shiva in its Brooklyn home, has refused to make any public statements, but left a note outside its building which read, in part, “From the depths of our mourning hearts, thank you.”

Aron was arraigned July 13 on charges of murder and kidnapping. Leiby apparently struggled against Aron as he allegedly was being suffocated; scratch marks were found on Aron’s arms and wrists, according to reports.

Despite a confession to police, Aron pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Aron allegedly kidnapped Leiby after he asked for directions while walking home from day camp by himself for the first time. He later allegedly killed the boy and dismembered his body.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.