Levi Aron Competent to Stand on 8-Year-Old Leiby Kletzky's Murder, Dismemberment

Aug. 4, 2011 — -- Levi Aron, the New York man charged with killing and dismembering 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, has been found competent to stand trial even though he has complained to police of hearing voices.

"Now that Mr. Aron has been found fit to proceed, we will move forward expeditiously to bring his case to trial," said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

Court records say Aron, 35, told investigators he was hearing voices "telling him to take his own life for what he did."

Lawyers entered a plea of not guilty on Aron's behalf and said the competency ruling does not preclude them from pursuing an insanity defense.

"It means that at the time an act was allegedly committed you did not understand the nature and consequences of the action," said defense attorney Jennifer McCann.

Aron has been accused of killing Kletzky after the boy became lost while walking home from camp. Police have said he confessed to giving the boy drugs, suffocating him with a towel and cutting up his body. Kletzky's remains were found in a suitcase thrown into a dumpster and in Aron's freezer.

Court records say Aron told investigators the victim's feet were in the freezer because he forgot to put them into the suitcase.

Aron is charged with two counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of kidnapping in the first degree and one count of kidnapping in the second degree. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life in prison without parole.