Andrew Robert Levene, 41, who was arrested on Jan. 23 for the murder of Connecticut jeweler Yekutiel Zeevi, has reportedly killed himself, according to the Hartford Courant and other news sources.

The U.S. Attorney’s office which charged Levene referred inquires to the U.S. embassy in Madrid, which said it couldn’t share any information on cause of death out of privacy concerns.

“We were advised yesterday morning, at our Consulate General in Barcelona, that Levene had died in custody and that the Spanish authorities had opened an investigation into the cause/circumstances of his death,” spokesman Jeffrey Galvin told JCK. 

On Dec. 8, Levene allegedly arranged to meet Zeevi, the owner of Westport, Conn., jeweler YZ Manufacturers, to purchase diamonds he had been shown the night before. It has not been established what transpired during the meeting, but Levene was charged with shooting and killing Zeevi, wounding an associate, and stealing six diamonds worth approximately $300,000.

“It was a brilliant investigation and I am glad that they caught the suspect,” says John Kennedy, president of Jewelers’ Security Alliance, who noted that the case appears unusual in that the jeweler didn’t seem to offer any resistance. “It was a very cold-blooded killing.”

The criminal complaint against Levene charged him with one count of interference with commerce through robbery, one count of federal murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of causing death through the use of a firearm.

JCK