The New York hardware clerk who pleaded guilty to kidnapping, killing and dismembering an 8-year-old Orthodox Jewish boy from Brooklyn is facing a sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
Levi Aron, 36, admitted to kidnapping and killing Leiby Kletzky after the boy asked him for directions.
He then took Kletzky back to his apartment, where he gave the boy a toxic mix of prescription and over-the-counter medications before smothering him with a towel.
Police say Leiby's dismembered body was found in Aron's freezer and inside a suitcase in a nearby trash bin.
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind said the Kletzky family agreed to Aaron’s guilty plea in early August so as not to hear the gruesome details of their son’s death in court.
“They didn’t want to have to go through a trial just because I think anyone can imagine to have to listen to the horror, to have to listen to the details,” Hikind said.
At the time Aron's attorney, Jennifer L. McCann, said she was "glad we were able to come up with an amenable resolution that both sides agreed to."
Kletzky's family released a statement saying they have "finally received some partial closure on one aspect of this nightmare."