Man Castigates Wife’s Killers : Reward Announced in Slaying of 72-Year-Old Survivor of Holocaust

Aliza Levi was a survivor.

During World War II, most of her family perished in concentration camps. But she managed to elude the Nazis, slipping out of her native Prague, Czechoslovakia, aboard a train with 200 other youngsters. She then hid in a French convent.

But in Van Nuys, in a fortress-like home with high, ivy-covered walls and iron-barred windows where she lived for 13 years, her survival skills were not enough.

The 72-year-old grandmother was stabbed to death Tuesday after two burglars entered her home in the 7900 block of Norwich Avenue. And Friday, her husband--who was running errands when she was slain--denounced her killers at an emotional news conference that announced a $25,000 reward for information on them.

“You animal murderer, watching now and listening to my voice,” an angry Zvi Levi, 80, said into a score of TV cameras arrayed outside his home.

“Have you a conscience? Have you God in your heart? Why . . . why you supposed to kill her? You could have taken anything from the house . . . and you take her life,” said the Israeli immigrant, staring fiercely at the cameras.

“You remember her face, her crying. And she calls my name . . . and I couldn’t go to her.”

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Dan O’Hanian said Aliza Levi “did a lot of screaming. She fought as hard as she could for a 72-year-old.” But the burglars, whom police describe as two male Latinos, left a clue.

“The one thing that is unique in this is that (one of the burglars) left a shoe behind,” said O’Hanian. “He was obviously in a hurry to get out of there.”

The shoe is so distinctive that police believe they are certain someone can identify it.

O’Hanian described it as a black, deck-style shoe with small black laces, decorated with a white reptile-like design. It is about a size 9.

“Somebody has got to know something about the shoe or the foot that fits in it,” said Detective Roberta Moore, who is also investigating the case.

The description of the suspects is more sketchy. O’Hanian said a witness described the one who lost the shoe as about 5 feet, 4 inches or 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 18 to 24 years old, about 140 or 150 pounds, with short, black wavy hair. He was wearing an acid-washed jean shirt and baggy pants.

Police believe the suspects may be linked to other burglaries in the area. About 50 have been reported over the past 18 months.

The Levi home had not been burglarized before, and police said they are unsure what, if anything, was taken during Tuesday’s incident. There were no signs of forced entry at the home.

Levi was the second elderly woman in less than a week to be killed in her Van Nuys home. Berneda McMackin, 77, was found dead Sunday after being beaten and her body set afire in an apparent attempt to hide the crime.

O’Hanian said there is no evidence to connect the two slayings. About the only thing in common is the fear and outrage they have generated.

“It’s a pretty tragic irony and a sad statement on society that a woman as strong as she was could survive the Holocaust but could not survive the sanctity of her own home in Van Nuys,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, who urged the council to offer the $25,000 reward.

Zvi Levi and his relatives seemed shell-shocked after attending Aliza’s funeral earlier Friday. As he spoke to the cameras, tears welled in listeners’ eyes and his two grandsons hugged each other.

“My wife was a person who loved everybody,” he said, his voice trembling in anger. “All the neighbors loved her. She used to pray day and night for them.”

“Is this the real America?”