Family of Leiby Kletzky Sets Up Charity Fund to Support Families in Need
The parent’s of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, who was abducted and brutally killed last week, set up a memorial fund Thursday.
The young boy’s parents are urging everyone who sympathizes with their son’s tragic death to consider donating to the charity that will help needy children and families.
Kletzky’s family members have quietly mourned his death and have spent seven days in shiva. However, on Thursday they released a statement to thank authorities working on the case and “our fellow New Yorkers and beyond who assisted us physically, emotionally and spiritually.”
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The statement, which was released on Chabad.org, a Jewish website, added: “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.”
The suspected killer of the young boy, Levi Aron was indicted Wednesday on charges of murder, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes confirmed.
Details are continuing to emerge in the murder that has shocked the nation, and reports confirmed that Kletzky was fed a cocktail of prescription drugs before being smothered to death and being brutally dismembered.
The New York City medical examiner found several traces of drugs in the boy’s body, including cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant, quetiapine, an antipsychotic drug, Vicodin, and Tylenol, ruling the death a homicide, according to ABC.
The findings corresponded to the statements made by Aron, who told police that he smothered Kletzky with a towel before he chopped up his body parts.
Kletzky, who was part of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, was reported missing on July 11 by his parents. The boy had begged his mother to give him permission to walk home alone, to which his mother agreed on the condition that she would meet him halfway.
However, when the 8-year-old took a wrong turn and got lost, he asked Aron, also a member of the Orthodox community, for help.
Kletzky’s body parts were found two days later by police in Aron’s freezer as well as in a dumpster nearby. Detectives found the boy's severed feet, wrapped in plastic, in Aron's freezer.
A cutting board and a number of bloody carving knives were also found in the refrigerator. Other parts of the young boy's body were discovered in bags inside a red suitcase in a dumpster. Kletzky’s legs had been cut from his torso.
One of Aron’s lawyers, Marrone, removed himself from the case on Thursday without explaining publicly why he was stepping down.
Details of the memorial fund set up in Leiby Kletzky’s honor can be found at leibykletzkymemorialfund.com. The website is headed “Coping With Grief by Doing Good.” As of 11 p.m. Thursday evening the fund had already gathered 2,683 supporters and $117,024. The fund has an initial goal of $1 million.
The site pleads with readers to be generous and details that donations will be used among other things to “help young orphans cope with tragedy, help indigent families feed their children, and help families going through a critical time in their lives.”
