Accused killer Levi Aron (left) and victim Leiby Kletzky (right)
UPDATED AS OF NOVEMBER 8, 2011
LEVI ARON,SUSPECTED CHILD KILLER TO BE TRIED IN BROOKLYN
An appeals court has decided that Levi Aron, accused of killing and chopping up a young Hasidic boy, will face trial in Brooklyn, where the boy went missing and was killed, and not in Suffolk County or the Bronx, where his lawyers say he might have had a fair shot. "Current defense counsel’s attempts to correct inaccurate information and to redirect the public to seek justice through trial instead of vengeance have been ignored," Jennifer McCann, Aron’s lawyer, argued in court to no avail.
The Appellate Division ruled that the trial should stay in Brooklyn after the DA there pointed out that, among other reasons, "there are nearly 500,000 people eligible for jury duty in Brooklyn, and that there are far fewer Jews in Suffolk and Bronx Counties."
Aron is accused of kidnapping, killing and carving up 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky earlier this summer. Though he has entered a plea of not guilty in court, he wrote a chilling confession for the police when he was initially arrested. His lawyer has since pointed out that, "he's obviously crazy."
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