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.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
