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Fox News
2 minutes ago
- Fox News
Murder of Etan Patz, one of first missing children on milk cartons, raises confession questions after reversal
The man imprisoned for kidnapping and murdering a six-year-old boy in New York City nearly 45 years ago has had his conviction overturned. 64-year-old Pedro Hernandez has been serving 25 years to life in prison after being convicted in 2017 of killing Etan Patz in 1979. Patz vanished on the first day he was allowed to walk to the school bus stop by himself on May 25, 1979. He was one of the first missing children to be pictured on milk cartons in a case that drew national attention. President Ronald Reagan later declared May 25, 1983, the first National Missing Children's Day in memory of Patz. On the morning of May 25, 1979, the first-grader was granted permission from his parents to walk alone to the bus stop, located just a block and a half away from where the family lived. His mother took him downstairs and watched him walk into the distance – he was never seen again. At the time of Patz's disappearance, Hernandez was working at a convenience shop as a teenager in the child's downtown Manhattan neighborhood. He initially spoke with authorities as they were canvassing for the child, but he did not become a suspect until police received a 2012 tip revealing that Hernandez had previously made remarks about killing a child in New York, but had not mentioned Patz by name. Hernandez was arrested in 2012 and ultimately confessed to the crime after seven hours of questioning, telling investigators he had lured Patz into the store's basement with the promise of giving him a soda. Once inside, Hernandez said he had choked the child because "something just took over me," before putting Patz – who Hernandez said was still alive – inside a box and leaving it alongside a pile of trash. However, Hernandez's lawyers insisted the confession was the result of a mental illness that caused their client to misinterpret his imagination from reality. The attorneys also pointed to Hernandez's very low IQ. "Several factors likely contributed to his confession, including low IQ, mental illness, and heightened suggestibility," Jonathan Alpert, psychotherapist and author of "Therapy Nation," told Fox News Digital. "These make someone more prone to internalizing guilt or fabricating details to meet perceived expectations." Alpert has not treated any of the individuals involved in the case. Hernandez was initially tried in New York state court twice – with the first trial ending in a jury deadlock in 2015 – before an appeal transferred the case into federal court. At the time, prosecutors claimed that Hernandez was faking or exaggerating his illness, pointing to Hernandez reportedly admitting to the crimes before police read him his rights and began recording their interview in 2012. He went on to repeat his confession at least twice while being recorded. The confession ultimately led to questions from jurors during their nine days of deliberations, with their final inquiry revolving around whether they were required to rule out the two recorded confessions if they were to determine that the first one was invalid – with the judge telling them they were not. An appeals court later ruled the judge should have provided a better explanation to the jury regarding their options, which could have included not factoring in all three of Hernandez's confessions. Referring to a jury note during the trial, the appeals court said the judge had provided a "clearly wrong" and "manifestly prejudicial" response to the question posed. The court's decision to overturn Hernandez's conviction and grant him a new trial raises questions regarding mental health and confessions in court cases, as Alpert points to the frequent susceptibility of individuals with mental health disorders to "have an intense need to gain approval from authority figures." "When interrogators suggest a narrative, these individuals can absorb and repeat it, not out of deceit, but out of compliance. Over time, they may even start to believe it themselves, especially when under stress or exhaustion." While a new trial could bring additional clarity for a case that has spanned decades, Alpert warns that it could also lead to misunderstandings regarding testimony and evidence years later. "A retrial has the potential to bring clarity, especially if new psychological insights or evidence are introduced," Alpert told Fox News Digital. "But it could just as easily create more confusion, particularly if the case continues to rely heavily on interpretation rather than hard facts." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB The case garnered national attention, with Patz's photo being one of the first to be circulated on milk cartons throughout the country. His parents spent decades in the same home and with the same phone number, in hopes of their son eventually returning to them. The child's family worked to help establish a national missing-children hotline and pioneered a new way for law enforcement agencies throughout the country to distribute information regarding such cases. "They waited and persevered for 35 years for justice for Etan, which today, sadly, may have been lost," former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. told The Associated Press after hearing about the reversal. The court ordered Hernandez's release unless he receives a new trial within "a reasonable time period." "For more than 13 years, Pedro Hernandez has been in prison for a crime he did not commit and based on a conviction that the Second Circuit has now made clear was obtained in clear violation of law," Hernandez's lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We are grateful the Court has now given Pedro a chance to get his life back, and we call upon the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to drop these misguided charges and focus their efforts where they belong – on finding those actually responsible for the disappearance of Etan Patz." The Manhattan District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. "This case highlights a broader issue in the legal system," Alpert said. "Confessions are not always reliable. Mental illness, coercion or desperation can all lead someone to admit guilt falsely. Without physical evidence to support a confession, courts must proceed with extreme caution. Understanding the psychology behind a confession is essential before treating it as fact."
Forbes
2 minutes ago
- Forbes
Colorado Prof Cheers ‘South Park' Trump Mockery, Frustrated By Comics Not Doing Same
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 22: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump looks on during Turning Point ... More USA's AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The annual four day conference geared toward energizing and connecting conservative youth hosts some of the country's leading conservative politicians and activists. (Photo by) A Colorado professor said it was 'funny as hell' the way South Park went after President Donald Trump in its Season 27 premiere episode, yet he's frustrated that more comedians on the left aren't taking the same approach. South Park, of course, is set in the fictionalized Colorado city of South Park, which follows four elementary school friends: Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny. In the new episode, called Sermon on the 'Mount, series creators and voice stars Trey Parker and Matt Stone skewered the president by, among other things, giving him small genitalia both in South Park-style animation and through a live-action AI deepfake. The episode also showed a South Park-animated version of Trump in bed with Satan and in some not-so-flattering 'White House portraits,' plus it also refers to 'Epstein's list.' The debut of the South Park Season 27 episode came only hours after Paramount Global announced a deal it made with Parker and Stone to bring South Park and 50 new episodes to its Paramount+ streaming platform, as well as the first 26 seasons of the Comedy Central series. The deal, which is for five years, was reported by several outlets to be worth $1.5 billion and comes just as Skydance finalizes its acquisition of Paramount Global. Given the classic animated Comedy Central series' history where everyone is subject to ridicule, Parker and Stone also took aim not only at Trump, but Paramount Global in its Season 27 premiere episode on Thursday. The episode not only called out the company's $16 million lawsuit settlement with Trump over a 60 Minutes segment, but it also skewered the company's decision to cancel its late-night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Colorado State University Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies Nick Marx told Wired in an article published Thursday that he was refreshed by the way South Park went after Trump following the methods the ousted talk show host and others have used criticize the president. 'It's f---ing funny as hell that they seek to sexually humiliate Trump,' Marx told Wired, noting how Parker and Stone were going after the president's 'vanity and insecurity.' However, now that Parker and Stone went there with Trump, Marx told Wired that he's frustrated by how more comedians aren't doing the same. 'I think that is the card to play … and I am frustrated that more of the comedians that I love on the left haven't leaned into that really harsh attack of him,' Marx told Wired. SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 24: (L-R) Matt Stone and Trey Parker speak onstage at Comedy Central ... More Adult Animation: "South Park", "Beavis & Butt-Head", and "Digman" Panel during 2025 Comic-Con International: San Diego at San Diego Convention Center on July 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by) Trey Parker Briefly Addressed The White House Criticism At San Diego Comic Con While media outlets lauded the South Park Season 27 premiere episode, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers slammed it in a statement to media outlets on Friday. 'This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,' Rogers said in the statement (via Variety). 'President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak.' In his reaction by the White House during a San Diego Comic Con panel on Friday (via Deadline), Parker simply responded in a not-so-sincere manner, saying, 'We're terribly sorry.' In addition, Parker and Stone assured viewers that, in spite of the release of a promotional reel for Season 27 earlier this year, fans will still get topical episodes of South Park and none of them are pre-packaged. 'You seriously think we made a bunch of shows ahead of time and baked them for later? We're not doing any of that,' Parker exclaimed, to which Stone quipped, 'No politics. None of that s---.' South Park Season 27 is new on Comedy Central on cable and streaming on Paramount+.
Fox News
2 minutes ago
- Fox News
Democrats don't have clear stances on any policy issue, says Princeton political scientist
Princeton University political scientist Dr. Lauren Wright discusses the Democratic Party's latest approval ratings and efforts to connect with young voters on 'Fox Report.'
