Leiby Kletzky was drugged with prescription pills before being murdered, newly released autopsy results revealed Wednesday.

Traces of muscle relaxants, anti-psychotic medicine, and pain-killers were found in the 8-year-old Brooklyn boy’s blood, the city medical examiner said, the New York Daily News reported.

The coroner’s report listed the pills along with suffocation as the cause of death, saying the boy suffered “intoxication by the combined effects of cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxant) , quetiapine (antipsychotic), hydrocodone (pain medication), and acetaminophen (Tylenol), followed by smothering,” according to The New York Times.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Times says hydrocodone is better known as the ingredient in Vicodin, while cyclobenzaprine is sold under the brand name Flexeril.

The medical examiner’s report is the first indication that Kletzky was drugged.

Levi Aron, 35, allegedly confessed to abducting the Orthodox Jewish boy as he walked home from day camp alone for the first time on July 11.

Aron, who was charged with murder, claimed he smothered the boy with a towel after panicking over the massive search in the neighborhood.

Kletzky’s body parts were found July 13 in Aron’s freezer and a nearby trash bin.

Earlier Wednesday, Kletzky’s heartbroken parents ended their traditional mourning period with an early morning walk outside their Boro Park home, news reports said.

Nachman Kletzky and his wife, Esther, were surrounded by relatives as they walked outside on 15th Ave., around 6 a.m., the New York Daily News reported.

The walk marked the end of their seven-day shiva period during which they stayed inside their apartment.

“It’s a sign that your escorting the soul to its resting place,” Jack Meyer, of Misaskim, an organization that provides services to grieving families, told the paper.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

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 polarized discourse.

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

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

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

$90 $180

$360

Other amount