Home / Crime and Justice / Decades-Old Etan Patz Killing Sparks New Trial After Conviction Reversed
Decades-Old Etan Patz Killing Sparks New Trial After Conviction Reversed
21 Jul
Summary
- Etan Patz, 6, killed in 1979 in one of nation's most notorious missing child cases
- Pedro Hernandez convicted in 2017, now granted new trial due to jury instruction error
- Hernandez confessed to choking Patz but lawyers say confession was false
Over 40 years after the 1979 disappearance and killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz, the man convicted in the notorious case has been granted a new trial. On Monday, a federal appeals court overturned the 2017 guilty verdict of Pedro Hernandez, who has been serving 25 years to life in prison for Etan's murder.
Hernandez was a teenager working at a convenience shop in Etan's Manhattan neighborhood when the boy vanished on his way to school. Hernandez later confessed to choking Etan, but his lawyers argued the confession was false and spurred by Hernandez's mental illness and low IQ.
The appeals court ruled that the trial judge gave "clearly wrong" and "manifestly prejudicial" instructions to the jury in 2017 regarding Hernandez's confessions. The court ordered Hernandez's release unless the state grants him a new trial within a reasonable period. The Manhattan district attorney's office said it is reviewing the decision.
Etan's case was one of the nation's most notorious missing child cases, contributing to an era of heightened fear among American families. His parents' advocacy helped establish a national missing-children hotline and make it easier for law enforcement to share information on such cases.
