The brutal death of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky has left us speechless. It's left me speechless.
This little boy from the Orthodox Jewish community in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn disappeared as he was walking home from a day camp Monday afternoon. He apparently took a wrong turn and got lost - at least that's what authorities surmise from surveillance video from merchants in the area.
And then he ran smack into the man who would soon become his killer.
Surveillance video shows that encounter as well - with the boy getting into what police say belonged to Levi Aron.
Aron, now charged with the boy's murder and dismemberment. It's a hard word to even write. Hard as in painful. They say he suffocated the boy, and then cut him up - putting some parts in his refrigerator, and others in a nearby dumpster.
Cops say the 35-year-old Aron has no criminal history, other than public urination and not wearing a seatbelt. Hardly gateway crimes to murder.
But they also say he may have mental problems, and so Leiby had no chance.
Aron is, like the boy he's charged with killing, an Orthodox Jew, and so the otherwise close-knit community in Borough Park is in shock - over the killing of little Leiby and because the suspect is one of their own.
No surprise, parents, especially, are talking about the case. And worrying about their kids. One woman I ran into on the street today said she was re-thinking whether it's safe for her 13-year-old daughter to be out alone.
Of course it's safe, but of course no one can guarantee that. I remember when my son ventured out for the first time to walk to a bagel shop 60 seconds from our apartment. I stuck my head out the window to watch him cross the street and then disappear behind a building. He was gone about 3 minutes, but it seemed like 3 hours.
Parents worry.
Tonight, Kletzy will be buried. And at 11, we will be in Brooklyn - with a family and a community in mourning - and we'll have more on the suspect.
Also at 11, and on a completely different note, we're taking a closer look at the ways you can protect your passwords. Be honest - how many different passwords do you have? If you're like most people, you have one main password for most of your accounts. And that, say the peeps who know, is just not smart. David Novarro has our story tonight.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg with his AccuWeather forecast, and Laura Behnke (in for Rob Powers) with the night's sports. I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.
