Levi Aron, the man convicted of the horrific 2011 kidnapping and murder of eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky of Borough Park, died last weekend at a hospital near the Wende Correctional Facility in New York State. He was 49.
New York State corrections officials confirmed his death, noting that Aron had been moved to a hospital several months ago due to an unspecified “medical condition,” suggesting a serious or prolonged illness.
Aron was serving a sentence of 40 years to life for one of the most notorious crimes to ever strike the American Jewish community. The murder traumatized Orthodox communities in the U.S. and far beyond.
The crime occurred in the summer of 2011, when Leiby walked home alone from school for the first time. Aron, who also lived in Borough Park, abducted him after offering a ride. He later told investigators that he panicked upon seeing the extensive search efforts and, instead of returning the child, killed him. Parts of Leiby’s body were found in a dumpster in Park Slope, while others were discovered in Aron’s apartment refrigerator, details that shocked even veteran investigators.
