Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jewish community is reeling with the news that one of their own is charged with killing an 8-year-old boy.
The frantic 48-hour search for Leiby Kletzky ended grimly yesterday when police discovered his remains in a Dumpster. Levi Aron, 35, was charged with the murder last night.
The nightmare began Monday when Kletzky’s parents agreed to let him walk home alone from summer camp. They agreed to meet halfway.
But Kletzky apparently got lost, cops said, stopping to ask Aron for directions. The boy was caught on police videotape entering the man’s gold sedan.
The Hasidic community organized patrols, searching desperately for the boy and papering all of Borough Park and Park Slope with “Missing” signs. That was when Aron “panicked,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. “And that is why he killed the boy.”
Kelly said the “horrendous” incident could not be fully explained: There are no signs the boy was molested and a motive for the abduction is unclear. When police entered Aron’s apartment, they found Kletzky’s remains, including severed feet, in the refrigerator.
Jacob Daskal, coordinator of the Borough Park Shomrim, said the close-knit neighborhood was particularly shattered that the alleged killer was from their neighborhood — “a community man,” he said.
