Etan's disappearance changed childhood forever. Now this decades-old case has been reopened
Professor and author Jonathan Haidt told The New York Times that the deaths of the two boys in 1979 and 1981 'changed the way we raise kids' in a way that was 'very damaging to human development'.
'It was a terrible mistake,' he told the Times. 'Children need to play.'
Investigation spans decades
Etan's body has never been found, but his family had him legally declared dead in 2001. The investigation spanned decades and even reached Israel.
Hernandez worked at a convenience store in Etan's neighbourhood, and police noted meeting him among many people they encountered while searching. But he wasn't a suspect until 2012, when police got a tip that Hernandez, then living in New Jersey, had once spoken to a relative about killing a boy in New York City.
A disputed confession
There was no physical evidence against Hernandez, but police said that during a seven-hour interrogation, he confessed to attacking Etan.
In recorded statements, Hernandez tranquilly recounted offering a soft drink to entice Etan into the basement of the convenience store, where Hernandez was then working as a teenage stock clerk. Hernandez said he choked Etan, put the still-alive boy into a plastic bag and a box, and left the box in an alley.
Hernandez's lawyers said the admissions were the false imaginings of a man with mental illness and a very low IQ.
The defence also urged jurors to consider another long-time suspect who had dated a woman who had sometimes walked Etan home from school. That man was later convicted of molesting boys in Pennsylvania. He told federal authorities about interacting with a child he was all but sure was Etan on the day the boy vanished. But he was never criminally charged.
Prosecutors maintained that Hernandez's confessions were credible and suggested he faked or exaggerated symptoms of mental illness.
Appeals court ruling
In its ruling on Monday, a federal appeals court overturned Hernandez's conviction because of the original judge's response to a jury note during a 2017 trial.
The appeal revolved around the police interrogation that Hernandez underwent in 2012. Police said he initially confessed before they read him his rights. Hernandez was then given a legally required warning that his statements could be used against him in court, then repeated his admission on tape at least twice.
At the trial, the jury sent a note to the judge asking whether it should disregard the two recorded confessions if it concluded that the first one – given before the Miranda warning – was invalid. The judge answered 'no'. The appeals court ruled that the jury should have gotten a more thorough explanation of its options, which could have included disregarding all the confessions.
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'It was a zeitgeist moment that changed the way we deal with our kids,' Lisa R. Cohen, the author of After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive, told The New York Times. 'And then it never stopped.' Professor and author Jonathan Haidt told The New York Times that the deaths of the two boys in 1979 and 1981 'changed the way we raise kids' in a way that was 'very damaging to human development'. 'It was a terrible mistake,' he told the Times. 'Children need to play.' Investigation spans decades Etan's body has never been found, but his family had him legally declared dead in 2001. The investigation spanned decades and even reached Israel. Hernandez worked at a convenience store in Etan's neighbourhood, and police noted meeting him among many people they encountered while searching. But he wasn't a suspect until 2012, when police got a tip that Hernandez, then living in New Jersey, had once spoken to a relative about killing a boy in New York City. A disputed confession There was no physical evidence against Hernandez, but police said that during a seven-hour interrogation, he confessed to attacking Etan. In recorded statements, Hernandez tranquilly recounted offering a soft drink to entice Etan into the basement of the convenience store, where Hernandez was then working as a teenage stock clerk. Hernandez said he choked Etan, put the still-alive boy into a plastic bag and a box, and left the box in an alley. Hernandez's lawyers said the admissions were the false imaginings of a man with mental illness and a very low IQ. The defence also urged jurors to consider another long-time suspect who had dated a woman who had sometimes walked Etan home from school. That man was later convicted of molesting boys in Pennsylvania. He told federal authorities about interacting with a child he was all but sure was Etan on the day the boy vanished. But he was never criminally charged. Prosecutors maintained that Hernandez's confessions were credible and suggested he faked or exaggerated symptoms of mental illness. Appeals court ruling In its ruling on Monday, a federal appeals court overturned Hernandez's conviction because of the original judge's response to a jury note during a 2017 trial. The appeal revolved around the police interrogation that Hernandez underwent in 2012. Police said he initially confessed before they read him his rights. Hernandez was then given a legally required warning that his statements could be used against him in court, then repeated his admission on tape at least twice. At the trial, the jury sent a note to the judge asking whether it should disregard the two recorded confessions if it concluded that the first one – given before the Miranda warning – was invalid. The judge answered 'no'. The appeals court ruled that the jury should have gotten a more thorough explanation of its options, which could have included disregarding all the confessions.
