Aron pleads not guilty to killing boy

The man accused of kidnapping and killing an 8-year-old Brooklyn boy seeking directions last month was deemed fit to stand trial and pleaded not guilty to murder charges Thursday.

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his hands and feet in chains and a leather strap around his waist, Levi Aron, 35, bowed his head and said nothing as he stared at the floor during his arraignment in a packed Brooklyn courtroom.

Authorities have said Leiby Kletzky asked Aron for directions July 11 when he became lost during what was to be his first time walking home alone from day camp.

Investigators have said Aron drove the boy to an upstate wedding -- the child waited in the car -- before returning to his Kensington apartment. Aron reported to work the following day and went home to drug and smother the boy with a towel, police said.

A portion of the child's dismembered remains were found in Aron's freezer, they said.

Police have said Aron told them he killed Leiby in a panic because of the massive manhunt led by members of the city's tightly knit Hasidic Jewish community.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said in a statement that the case "will go to trial and that there are absolutely no circumstances which would lead me to accept a plea bargain."

Pierre Brazile, one of Aron's attorneys, said he has not ruled out an insanity plea and that the defense will decide after their client is evaluated further.

Brazile also said that the "rancor" in the community "should be dialed back" and that anyone charged with a crime has a right to a defense.

Jennifer McCann, another of Aron's attorneys, asked the community to let the legal process move forward at an appropriate pace. "The last thing you would want is a quick conviction overturned by appeals," she said. "We believe the system works."

Brazile said his client might not be able to get a fair trial in Brooklyn; its jury pool may be tainted because of information shared with the public. "A change in venue is a serious consideration," he said.

Judy Hirsch, a member of the Hasidic community who came to the courthouse in support of the Kletzky family, said the killing robbed her five boys -- ages 6 to 18 -- of their freedom.

"I've spoke a lot about this with my children," said Hirsch, who lives in Williamsburg. "I told them never to get in a car with anyone. And if someone tries to make you, yell the loudest you can, kick the hardest you could and try to remember what the guy looked like."

Assemb. Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who has been in regular contact with the Kletzky family, said they are "trying their best" but that their pain is unfathomable. He said the killing has forced families to understand that danger can come from within their own community. "Just because someone looks like Daddy doesn't make it safe," he said.

He told reporters before the arraignment that an insanity defense is irresponsible and that Aron should get life in prison.

"This was an individual who worked in the community for 12 years and who planned and plotted this horror that he committed," he said.

Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser of Brooklyn said the case has killed the innocence of children around the world.

He described the Kletzkys as a loving family who cannot forget for a moment what has happened.

"The pain is searing, boiling, burning at every second," he said.