Sources: Plea deal in Brooklyn boy's slaying
An undated handout photo of Leiby Kletzky. Credit: NYPD
The man accused of kidnapping and dismembering 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky in Brooklyn last summer has agreed to a plea deal that would send him to prison for 40 years to life, people familiar with the case said Wednesday.
The tentative plea deal for Levi Aron, 36, charged with abducting and murdering the Hasidic boy while he was walking home from camp, was disclosed by Borough Park Assemb. Dov Hikind, who has been speaking for Kletzky's parents and received the information from them.
The deal, Hikind press secretary Yehudah Meth said, "still has to be entered before a judge and accepted by the judge."
Meth added, "Just because there's an agreement, who knows what will happen between now and then?"
The plea, which was confirmed by another source familiar with the case, is expected to be entered when Aron makes an appearance in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Aug. 9.
Pierre Bazile, a lawyer for Aron, declined to comment. A spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes also declined to comment.
Aron, a hardware clerk, allegedly drugged and suffocated Kletzky, then dismembered him. His lawyers have discussed a possible insanity defense.
He was ruled competent to stand trial.Meth said Kletzky's parents are content with the deal.
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