Leiby Kletzky Mourned by Thousands at Funeral: Levi Aron Charged with Second-Degree Murder

Levi Aron, 35, will be in court Thursday, charged with second-degree murder of Leiby Kletzky.

After two exhausting days of search for the eight-year-old boy, Leiby Kletzky's dismembered body was found by authorities in two locations in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Kletzky's funeral on Thursday drew thousands of people. Three rabbis spoke at the funeral service. The boy's father also spoke briefly, thanking God for such a beautiful child with a beautiful soul, reported CBS News. The rabbi of the Shul where Leiby worshipped with his family cried from his very first word in Yiddish, quoting scripture as he tried to comfort the attendants, said ABC News. Family members then returned to their home, where Leiby lived with his parents and sisters, to grieve in private. The boy's burial will be in Laurel Park, N.J.

Aron made a full written confession to authorities on Wednesday, explaining how he smothered Kletzky with a towel and then dismembered him. It was the community-wide search for the boy that caused Aron to panic, and committed the crime, according to sources from ABC News.

Police are now working to determine whether Aron can be tied to other missing children cases, reports WABC.

The brutal murder was a random act of violence, said authorities.

On the first day when he received permission to walk home alone from day camp in Brooklyn, Kletzky got lost and asked a wrong man for direction. His mother was only seven blocks away. The boy's company with Levi Aron along the street on Monday was recorded on surveillance cameras. One of the cameras showed Kletzky standing across the street from a dentist's office, waiting for Aron while he went in and paid a bill. Another camera showed Leiby being driven away in a brown 1990 Honda.

''It's very sad,'' said police spokesman Paul Browne. ''The boy looks like he's just found somebody who's going to help him find his way home.''

Police raided the home of Levi Aron, 35, who they subsequently arrested around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, and they discovered Leiby Kletzky's feet in Zip-Lock bags in the freezer.

Investigators asked where the boy was and Aron pointed to the kitchen, where blood was found on the refrigerator handle, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Inside the refrigerator was a cutting board with three carving knives with blood on them, some of the remains were in the freezer.

The rest of the body was found in a red suitcase, pulled from a dumpster in Greenwood Heights.

Such a thing shouldn't happen anymore, grief counselor Joel Landau said to ABC News. We have to pray that this is the last time we hear a thing like this.

His former wife Deborah, who divorced him in 2007 after a year of marriage, said: ''This is completely out of character with the Levi I know. He was really good with kids,'' reported the New York Times. I've been in total shock. I had spoken to him not long ago, and everything seemed to be just fine, said Deborah Aron.

The day Aron was arrested - July 13 - was the man's 35th birthday. And it was also days before the boy's 9th birthday.