The shocking case of an eight-year-old boy's brutal murder has returned to public attention following the death of his killer in prison. Levi Aron, who was serving a 40-year to life sentence for the 2011 kidnapping and murder of Leiby Kletzky, died last month at age 49, almost 15 years into his sentence.
A Tragic Walk Home Turns Deadly
On July 11, 2011, Leiby Kletzky was walking home alone for the first time from a religious camp in Borough Park, Brooklyn. His parents had carefully practiced the route with him the day before, and his mother planned to meet him halfway. However, the young boy missed a turn and became lost in the neighbourhood.
In his confusion, Leiby approached Levi Aron for directions. What should have been a simple act of assistance turned into every parent's worst nightmare when Aron, instead of helping the child find his way, promised to take him home but instead took him to a wedding in Rockland County.
The Descent into Horror
After returning to his apartment in Kensington, Aron discovered that a massive search was underway for the missing boy. The Borough Park area, home to one of the world's largest Orthodox Jewish communities, had mobilised thousands of volunteers to scour the streets for the lost child.
According to Aron's later statements, he and Leiby watched television together before sleeping in separate rooms following the wedding. The following day, Aron went to work at a hardware store before returning home, where he made the boy a tuna sandwich. Investigators would later find ligature marks on Leiby's wrists, indicating he had been restrained.
The Gruesome Discovery
Panicked by the intensive search efforts, Aron drugged the eight-year-old before smothering him with a towel. In a particularly chilling act, he then dismembered the child's body, disposing of most remains but keeping the severed feet in a plastic bag in his freezer - just two miles from Leiby's family home.
On July 13, police investigating surveillance footage knocked on Aron's door. Officers soon noticed blood on his refrigerator and discovered bloody knives and a cutting board inside. The search revealed the child's feet in the freezer, prompting Aron to confess that the head, torso and legs were in a suitcase inside a dumpster on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn.
Justice and Aftermath
Aron pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering the young Hasidic community member. He was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, with the judge describing his actions as "utterly reckless, malicious and wanton" - words echoed by the victim's father, Nachman Kletzky.
The killer's death occurred on December 3 after he was transferred from Wende Correctional Facility to hospital on August 23 due to a "medical condition." The state Department of Correction and Community Supervision confirmed his "death was expected," though no official cause has been reported. Aron's family, who remained in Brooklyn despite receiving numerous death threats following the murder, requested an autopsy.
Nachman Kletzky declined to comment on his son's killer's death, maintaining a dignified silence about the man who brought such unimaginable tragedy to his family fifteen years ago. The case remains one of New York's most haunting child murder investigations, a stark reminder of how a simple wrong turn can lead to unthinkable consequences.
