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Child Murder Suspect Levi Aron's Attorney Resigns Over Conscience
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 22, 2011
Modified Jul 22, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 22, 2011
Modified Jul 22, 2011
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One of the attorneys for Levi Aron, the man who confessed to killing and dismembering 8-year-old Hasidic boy Leiby Kletzky last week, abruptly resigned last night, saying it was because of "the horrific way this boy was killed." Gerard Marrone, who was one of two lawyers representing Aron, told the Daily News his conscience weighed heavy on him over the gruesome details of the murder: "I have three little boys. You can't look at your kids and then look at yourself in the mirror, knowing that a little boy, who's close in age to my eldest son, was murdered so brutally."
More than a week after Leiby was abducted, drugged, smothered to death and dismembered, police are still wading through Aron's Kensingston home trying to find more evidence, focusing on whether this was the first child he had killed. Police took bags marked "kids pants" and "blue child's spoon, pink cup" from the attic apartment yesterday, and will run the items through the DNA database to see if they match any other cases. "There were two boxes in a closet, and they appear to have been there for a while," a source told the Post.
Last week, neighbors accused Aron of having tried to kidnap children in the past, and investigators seemed unconvinced that this could have been Aron's first murder. Although Aron wrote a detailed written confession, he pled not guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges, and his remaining lawyer has made it clear that they will pursue an insanity defense. Legal sources told the News that Aron is eligible for the federal death penalty because he took Leiby across state lines—Aron allegedly stopped to get gas in NJ (using a credit card) before heading to a wedding in Monsey, NY the day before he killed Leiby. "That crime is punishable by up to life in prison or the death penalty," said former federal prosecutor Morris Fodeman.
Leiby's parents, Nachman and Itta Kletzky, released a statement yesterday thanking authorities and “all our fellow New Yorkers and beyond who assisted us physically, emotionally and spiritually.” They mentioned they had established a memorial fund to help children in dire need: “We are certain that Leiby is now looking down from heaven and blessing us all...We pray that none of you should ever have to live through what we did.”
Tagged
conscience
dismemberment
leiby kletzky
levi aron
murder
orthodox jew
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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