Family of murdered Brooklyn boy Leiby Kletzky sets up fund (VIDEO)
Members of New York Police Department and media wait in front of the residence of Leibby Kletzky, a murdered eight-year-old boy who went missing from the Hasidic neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn, July 13, 2011 in New York City.
The family of murdered Brooklyn boy Leiby Kletzky, 8, abducted and dismembered on his way home from day camp, has set up a website in his honor to raise money for needy children.
The Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund, shows photos of Kletzky as a baby and toddler, aims to raise $1 million and thereby "accomplish all the wonderful things that Leiby would have achieved — had he lived."
Kletzky's suspected killer, Levi Aron, was indicted Wednesday on charges of murder, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced that a grand jury handed down an eight-count indictment charging Aron, 35, with two counts of murder in the first degree, each carrying a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.
Aron also reportedly faces three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping in the first degree and one count of kidnapping in the second degree.
Aron is likely to next appear in court July 28, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said.
Police say Kletzky, an Orthodox Jewish boy, got lost leaving day camp on July 11 and asked Aron for help.
Video surveillance and other investigative work led police to Aron's house, and parts of Kletzky's dismembered body were found in his freezer on July 13. In a confession to police, Aron said that he killed Kletzky when he saw fliers for the missing boy and "panicked and was afraid," according to JTA.
Kletzky may have fought back, JTA reports, citing police statements that scratches were found on Aron’s arms and wrists, adding that "Leiby’s remains also showed marks that may have been made by restraints."
On Wednesday, New York's medical examiner chilling new details about how Kletzky was killed, saying that he was given a combination of drugs — including cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant; quetiapine, an antipsychotic; and the pain medications hydrocodone and acetaminophen — before he was smothered to death with a bath towel.
His death has been ruled a homicide.
Mourners held a memorial service for Kletzky Wednesday night in Borough Park, attended by his father, Nachman Kletzky, the ABC reports.
"There's nothing we could say that could really affect the family as much as singing," Benny Rogosnitzky, cantor at Park East Synagogue, reportedly said. "So we asked the family to come together with the community to sing and pray, and hopefully inspire them."
The service marked the end of the eight-day mourning period of Shiva.
The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?