Cops: Brooklyn Boy Fought His Killer

Investigators believe an 8-year-old Brooklyn boy who was abducted and dismembered may have been tied up and tried to fight off his alleged captor before he was killed, police said today. Levi Aron, the man held in Leiby Kletzky's killing, had scratches on his arms, wrists, and elsewhere on his body—a sign "there was some kind of struggle," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said during a news conference. There also were marks on the victim's remains that could have been caused by restraints. A preliminary medical examination indicates Leiby was "smothered or suffocated," but it remains unclear when that happened, Kelly said.

Kelly also confirmed reports that Aron had given a written confession in the gruesome slaying of Leiby, which concluded with, "I'm sorry for the hurt that I caused," but he hasn’t expressed any further remorse. Aron has denied he molested the boy, but Kelly said police still consider that a possibility. NYPD investigators used a surveillance video to trace the missing boy to Aron, a hardware supply store clerk who the boy had apparently asked for directions. (Click to read what Aron’s ex-wife had to say about her former spouse and children.)