Cell phone records helped authorities track down Westport homicide suspect

A cell phone number, a sketch and an alias, backed by hundreds of hours of tedious detective work, helped deputy U.S. Marshals, Westport police and State Police detectives to track Andrew Robert Levene across the Northeast and western Europe before arresting him Monday night in Spain.

Levene, 41, who had gone by the name "Robert Thomas," was charged by federal authorities with federal murder, robbery and firearm charges in connection with killing Yekutiel Zeevi, the 65-year-old owner of Y.Z. Jewelry and wonding a business associate on the night of Dec. 8.

"We did everything we could, used every investigative tool at our disposal and in the end our guys did an unbelieveable job," said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Taylor. "I can't stress enough what an amazing job the deputy marshals, the Westport police and the State Police did. I'm very satisfied how quickly this all came together."

Checking cell phone records of a phone Levene allegedly used to contact the jeweler, investigators were able to learn it was purchased in New York City at an AT&T store in August.

Authorities also discovered that calls made months before the murder took place near an airport, and a check of airline ticket purchases determined that Levene traveled Aug. 3 to Barcelona, Spain, from Philadelphia.

This led authorities to believe that Levene had a connection to Spain, where authorities later discovered that relatives of Levene were living. He flew back from Madrid to Philadelphia on Dec. 5, three days before Zeevi's killing.

The affidavit for Levene's arrest warrant, filed at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., also details Levene's travels in Fairfield County in the days leading up to the shooting.

The affidavit says Levene made appointments at jewelry stores throughout Fairfield County on Dec. 7., including an appointment that night at Y.Z. Jewelry, where he met with Zeevi and Ronen Konfino, 48, of New York City, who brought diamonds from his Manhattan store that Levene said he was interested in buying.

Earlier Dec. 7, the owner of one of the stores Levene visited told authorities she became nervous when seeing Levene through the glass of the storefront and refused to open the door, the affidavit says.

Levene met with Zeevi and Konfino the night of Dec. 7 to examine diamonds that Levene said he might buy. But Levine told the two men he had to "sleep on it" and returned the next day.

Authorities say Levene arrived back at Y.Z. Jewelers at about 9:13 p.m. on the night of Dec. 8. The men talked for about a half-hour until Levene began to shift in his seat before pulling out a gun and shooting Zeevi and Konfino.

A source said video of the shooting shows the assailant talking to Zeevi, apparently negotiating a price that the pair agreed upon. When Zeevi turns away he is shot and falls. However, the assailant had to go behind the counter to get the keys to let himself out of the locked door. When he does, the video shows that Zeevi, an Israeli Army veteran, apparently grabs his attacker's ankle. The assailant then fires the fatal shot to free himself.

Authorities say Levene had been scheduled to fly from Philadelphia to Madrid on Dec. 9, but cancelled the flight. He later booked another flight to Madrid the night of Dec. 11, but missed it.

He was finally able to leave the country later that night, when he got on standby for a plane that took him to Amsterdam, where he arrived the following day.

Konfino, who survived the shooting, later helped investigators draw a sketch that helped confirm Levene's identity. Levene was at large in Europe until Monday night, when he was arrested in Spain.