Report: Levi Aron To Plead Guilty in Murder of Leiby Kletzky

The Brooklyn Butcher will likely die in prison in a plea deal that's been agreed to by all sides, the Daily News has learned.

Levi Aron, who shocked the city last summer when he kidnapped, killed and dismembered 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, will receive a prison sentence of 40 years to life, according to sources.

“There is a deal,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents the Borough Park neighborhood where Leiby lived and has been speaking on behalf of the boy’s family.

“But can things change? Until this is officially announced, things can change.”

Aron, 36, is due back in Brooklyn Supreme Court next Thursday, Aug. 9.

“The family has to live with this for the rest of their lives. They want to bring this to a conclusion,” said Hikind. “The idea of having a trial was not something that they wanted to go through. They want to make sure that there is justice.”

Defense lawyers for the confessed child killer, Howard Greenberg and Pierre Bazile, had no comment. But neither lawyer refuted the fact that a plea deal is pending.

Prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Aron, who became known as the “Brooklyn Butcher” after the gruesome crime, is accused of snatching the lost boy off the street last July, holding him captive for more than a day and smothering him upon realizing a massive search was underway.

He then chopped up the body, leaving the boy's feet in his freezer, police said.

The defense has argued that their client, who grew morbidly obese in jail, is schizophrenic and has vowed to pursue an insanity defense. They have recently turned over the results of a psychiatric exam by their expert to prosecutors, but it wasn't clear whether it concluded that an insanity claim is viable or not.

A friend of Leiby's parents, who recently welcomed a new baby, said the boy's father, Nachman Kletzky, has been discussing the plea with leaders in the Jewish community.

“They don't want to have any more open wounds,” the friend said.

Under the pending deal, Aron would get 25 years to life in prison for murder, plus 15 years for kidnapping, a source said. He is currently facing life without parole if convicted of the top charge of first-degree murder.

Hikind said he plans to read a statement from the family at next week's court appearance, but warned that nothing is final until the disposition is approved in court.

“At any moment, Levi Aron can change his mind,” Hikind said.

Daily News