As police prepared to remove more evidence from Levy Aron’s attic apartment, his legal team suffered a body-blow today.
Defense co-counsel Gerard Marrone abruptly resigned from the case, telling Eyewitness News that he simply could not in good conscience continue to represent Aron, who is accused of abducting and murdering an 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky in Brooklyn.
“The allegations were too horrific, and it’s not something I wanted to be involved in,” he told Eyewitness News. “I have three boys. One of my sons is seven. I looked at my own children and there are no words. You see the victim and you feel so sad.
”Marrone admitted there was a time earlier this week when he cried over the death of Leiby Kletzky.
Marrone and his co-counsel Pierre Bazile suggested last week that Aron was schizophrenic and said they were considering an insanity defense.
Bazile sought to downplay that speculation this afternoon
“Reports in the press that a so-called ‘insanity defense’ is planned are premature,” he said in a statement. “Please refrain from publishing this erroneous information.”
People in the community we spoke with insisted that an insanity plea would be an injustice.
Bazile hires new lawyer with "insanity" experience
The main defense lawyer for the man suspected of abducting and killing an 8-year-old boy he met on the street has acquired a new partner with experience in high-profile murder cases, including an insanity defense.
Pierre Bazile announced in an unusual statement on Friday that he had replaced attorney Gerard Marrone with Jennifer McCann on the team representing Levi Aron. Marrone left abruptly this week, saying in various media reports that he had “moral” issues about representing Aron. Bazile announced in a statement that McCann “represented Kathleen Prisco, who famously killed her husband and was found not guilty by reason of insanity this past December.”
Bazile also boasted that McCann represented “convicted murderer and dismemberer Nathan Powell and won his appeal for a lesser sentence.”
“She has a reputation for being an aggressive attorney who diligently represents high-profile defendants,” he added.
