Autopsy Inconclusive On Brother Of Leiby Kletzky’s Killer — Mystery Deepens

Leiby Kletzky

By Dave Goldiner June 5, 2017

The death of the brother of Leiby Kletzky’s killer is still a mystery.

An initial autopsy failed to determine a cause of death for Tzvi Aron, whose body was found Friday in his family’s Brooklyn home — the same infamous building where his brother stashed the remains of the slain 8-year-old Hasidic boy in 2011.

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said Sunday the cause of death of Aron is unknown pending further investigation.

Police discovered the body of Aron on Friday in a basement closet, three days after he went missing.

The corpse was wrapped in a blanket with duct tape, initially suggesting foul play. But officials say drug or alcohol abuse could have been a factor too.

The dead man’s brother, Levi Aron, pleaded guilty in 2011 in the kidnapping and killing of Leiby, who was kidnapped on his way home from summer camp in a crime that transfixed New York.

Although the family has faced threats over the slaying, Levi Aron said he “hopes” his brothers death has nothing to do with his crime.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

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