
Etan Patz case: Man convicted in 1979 killing of child awarded new trial
Pedro Hernandez has been serving 25 years to life in prison since his 2017 conviction. He had been arrested in 2012 after a decades-long, haunting search for answers in Etan's disappearance, which happened on the first day he was allowed to walk alone to his school bus stop in New York City.
The appeals court said the trial judge gave a 'clearly wrong' and 'manifestly prejudicial' response to a jury note during Hernandez's 2017 trial — his second. His first trial ended in a jury deadlock in 2015.
The court ordered Hernandez's release unless the 64-year-old gets a new trial within 'a reasonable period.'
Story continues below advertisement
The Manhattan district attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, said it was reviewing the decision. The trial predated current DA Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
Harvey Fishbein, an attorney for Hernandez, declined to comment when reached Monday by phone.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
A message seeking comment was sent to Etan's parents. They spent decades pursuing an arrest, and then a conviction, in their son's case and pressing to improve the handling of missing-child cases nationwide.
Etan was among the first missing children pictured on milk cartons. His case contributed to an era of fear among American families, making anxious parents more protective of kids who many once allowed to roam and play unsupervised in their neighborhoods.
The Patzes' advocacy helped establish a national missing-children hotline and made it easier for law enforcement agencies to share information about such cases. The May 25 anniversary of Etan's disappearance became National Missing Children's Day.
Etan's case spurred a huge search and an enduring, far-flung investigation. But no trace of him was ever found. A civil court declared him dead in 2001.
Hernandez was a teenager working at a convenience shop in Etan's downtown Manhattan neighborhood when the boy vanished. Police met him while canvassing the area but didn't suspect him until they got a 2012 tip that he'd made remarks years earlier about having killed a child in New York.
Story continues below advertisement
Hernandez then confessed to police, saying he'd lured Etan into the store's basement by promising the boy a soda and choked him because 'something just took over me.' He said he put Etan, still alive, in a box that he left with curbside trash.
Hernandez's lawyers said his confession was false, spurred by a mental illness that makes him confuse reality with imagination. He also has a very low IQ.
The trials happened in a New York state court. Etan's appeal eventually wound into federal court and came to revolve around Hernandez' police interrogation in 2012.
Police questioned Hernandez for seven hours — and they said he confessed — before they read him his rights and started recording the interrogation. Hernandez then repeated his admission on tape, at least twice.
During nine days of deliberations, jurors sent repeated queries about those statements. The last inquiry asked whether they had to disregard the two recorded confessions, if they concluded that the first one — given before the Miranda warning — was invalid.
The judge said no. The appeals court said the jury should have gotten a more thorough explanation of its options, which could have included disregarding all of the confessions as improperly obtained.
Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister in New York and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Global News
5 minutes ago
- Global News
Calgary stabbing sends man to hospital in life-threatening condition
Calgary police said charges are pending against two suspects following a stabbing in downtown Calgary on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Officers responded to the 0-100 block of Dermont Baldwin Way southeast, about 8:40 p.m., for reports of a stabbing and a robbery. View image in full screen Police say two people were taken into custody following a stabbing Thursday evening on Dermont Baldwin Way in downtown Calgary. Global News When they arrived, officers located a man suffering from what appeared to be stab wounds. He was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition. Story continues below advertisement A short time later, members of the Calgary police mounted patrol team located two suspects nearby and arrested them. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy One of the suspects also appeared to have stab wounds and was taken to hospital as a precaution. Investigators later determined that his injuries were related to an incident that occurred several days earlier. Officers continue to investigate and police say charges are pending. Anyone with information about the stabbings is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers.


Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Calgary police looking for suspects in vicious road rage assault
Calgary police are making a public plea to identify two men wanted in the vicious road rage assault of an 18-year-old whose mother was teaching him how to drive. Investigators said it happened on Tuesday, July 15, around 9:30 p.m. in the 6100 block of Fourth Avenue northeast in Calgary. The woman was teaching her son how to park in their SUV when a white pickup truck pulled up behind them and parked next to their vehicle. Two men got out of the truck and tried to get into the victim's SUV. View image in full screen Calgary police have released CCTV photos of two men who are suspects in the vicious road rage assault of a teenager on July 15, 2025. Calgary Police The woman's son got out of the vehicle to protect his mother but he was assaulted with a weapon. Story continues below advertisement The men then fled the scene and the woman called police. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The teen was transported to hospital with serious injuries. View image in full screen Calgary police have released CCTV photos of a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup, whose occupants are suspects in the vicious road rage assault of a Calgary teen. Calgary Police Investigators have released photos from CCTV cameras in an effort to identify the culprits. Both suspects are described as being between five feet eight inches and six feet tall. One was wearing a navy T-shirt and black pants and may have been wearing a face mask. The other was wearing a black hat, a white T-shirt and black pants and had short, dark hair and possibly facial hair. The pickup truck they were driving was believed to be a 1999 to 2007 white Chevrolet Silverado with an object sticking out of the box. Story continues below advertisement Investigators would also like to speak to some possible witnesses who were travelling in a white Ford Fusion and may have taken video of the altercation. Calgary police have released photos of a white Ford Fusion whose occupants may have been witnesses to a vicious road rage assault in Calgary on July 15, 2025. Calgary Police Anyone with information is asked to contact Calgary police at 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers online, by calling 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or by downloading the Crime Stoppers app (P3 Tips) from the app store.


Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Chuck E. Cheese mascot arrested in full costume for theft in Florida
It's not often you see a mascot get hauled away in handcuffs, but that's the exact scene that went down at a Florida Chuck E. Cheese this week, as onlookers watched police restrain the restaurant's iconic anthropomorphic rodent. On Wednesday, officers descended on a Tallahassee Chuck E. Cheese on reports of a stolen credit card, narrowing down the suspected thief to an employee who was inside the costume. Authorities believe Jermell Jones, who was dressed as the mouse when they arrived, stole a customer's bank card and used it to make fraudulent purchases. According to a police report, obtained by E! News, the owner of the bank card had used the card during her daughter's birthday party at the location last month. When she noticed some fraudulent charges, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Story continues below advertisement The documents allege she visited one of the locations that showed up in her irregular bank statements and obtained surveillance footage of a man making one of the purchases. She 'immediately recognized the suspect as an employee at Chuck E. Cheese,' the documents say. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy When police arrived at the children's pizza joint, Jones was handcuffed and escorted to a patrol car. He denied having anyone's bank cards and claimed he didn't know anything about the fraudulent purchases. Police later found a stolen bank card in their search, as well as a receipt allegedly matching one of the reported purchases. In total, investigators said the 41-year-old racked up US$105.57 in fraudulent charges. Photos and footage of the arrest have lit up the internet, with many questioning why police didn't have Jones remove the costume before he was placed under arrest. 'Ok, Tallahassee Police Department, y'all couldn't let this man change out of his Chuck E. Cheese costume before arresting him in front of those kids?' one Facebook user wrote while sharing photos of the incident. TPD spokesperson Alicia Hill told the Tallahassee Democrat that officers had hoped to lead Jones out of the restaurant without placing him in handcuffs. Story continues below advertisement 'When they approached him, he immediately tenses up and resists, and so at this point they make the decision to put him in handcuffs, keeping in mind the safety of not only the customers, but the suspect, as well as the officers themselves,' Hill said. 'It is unfortunate that the person who is subject of this investigation and who we had probable cause on happened to be … in costume.' Jones was charged with three felonies — theft of a credit card, criminal use of personal identification information and fraudulent use of a credit card over two times within six months, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.