Latest news with #AMBERAlertSystem
UPI
6 days ago
- UPI
Appeals court overturns murder conviction of Etan Patz in 1979 case
The New York Police Department supplies this poster of Etan Patz on his way to school, on May 25, 2012. Pedro Hernandez confessed to murdering Etan Patz in 1979 and convicted. And appeals court threw out the conviction Monday. File photo by UPI | License Photo July 21 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial or release for Pedro Hernandez, who was convicted of kidnapping 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979 in New York. Hernandez, now 64, was convicted in 2017 and was serving 25 years to life for the killing in SoHo in Lower Manhattan that drew national attention about the young boy's disappearance. Etan was among the first to be portrayed on a milk carton seeking the public's help in finding him. By the mid-1990s the cartons disappeared with the advent of the AMBER Alert System. Today is National #MissingChildrensDay On May 25, 1979, 6-year-old Etan Patz vanished on his way to the school bus. His disappearance sparked a national movement. Today, we remember the missing and continue to hold on to hope. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (@NCMEC) May 25, 2025 In 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared May 25 as "National Missing Children's Day." went missing on May 25, 1979. In a 51-page ruling, the 2nd Circuit of Appeals in New York determined that State Supreme Court Judge Maxwell Wiley during the 2017 trial gave improper instructions to the jury. "We are reviewing the decision," Emily Tuttles, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, said. Hernandez has been incarcerated at the state Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemore, N.Y. "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," his lawyers said. "We are grateful the Court has now given Pedro a chance to get his life back, and I 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 three-judge panel agreed with the defense attorneys who contend that a jury note about his confession improperly ignored precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court. "We conclude that the state trial court contradicted clearly established federal law and that this error was not harmless," said the opinion by Guido Calabresi, Raymond J. Lohier and Myrna Perez. His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2015 when one holdout juror refused to convict him. Two years later on Feb. 14, 2027, he was convicted of killing Etan as he walked alone to his school bus stop for the first time on May 25, 1979. In May 2012, Hernandez's brother-in-law, Jose Lopez, tipped off authorities that he believed his relative was involved in the child's disappearance. That month, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Hernandez, who was living in Maple Shade, N.J., was in custody. He was indicted on Nov. 14, 2012. "Im sorry, I shoke him," Hernandez, 18 at the time, wrote in a written confession. Hernandez told investigators that he lured the boy to the basement of his shop with a promise of a soda, and then choked him to death. He said he disposed of the body in a nearby alley though it was never found. The boy was declared dead in 2001. The jurors sent three notes to the judge, including one asking if they found Hernandez's confession was before he was read his Miranda rights, they must disregard his confessions afterward. The judge answered: "No." The appeals panel said: "Despite the jury's note seeking an 'expla[nation] to how it was to assess Hernandez's subsequent statements, the trial court provided none. ... Indeed, the answer 'no' was manifestly inaccurate, dramatically so." After nine days of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of felony murder and first-degree kidnapping. He was found not guilty of intentional murder.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Yahoo
Where Is Elizabeth Smart Now? Inside Her Life as a Mom-of-3 Over Two Decades After Her Teenage Abduction
At 14 years old, Elizabeth Smart was abducted by Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee on June 5, 2002 She was found by authorities nine months later, and her kidnappers were later sentenced to time in prison Now a married mother of three, Smart is a vocal victims' rights advocate and founder of the Elizabeth Smart FoundationElizabeth Smart sprang into the public's consciousness in June 2002 after the then-14-year-old was kidnapped by Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. Smart was subjected to daily rapes and often abused and starved throughout her 9-month ordeal. In March 2003, she was found by authorities while walking the streets of Utah and reunited with her family. Since then, Smart has built a legacy for herself as a survivor and advocate for others. She is also a married mother of three children. Still, the horror she went through is never far from her mind, even many years later. 'I have great days. I have not good days. I've got three kids that I love and drive me crazy,' she told PEOPLE in June 2024 with a laugh. 'No, they're the best part of life.' Smart also considers the day of her rescue, March 12, a "happy day." 'March 12th is to me a reminder that miracles happen and that there are many good things to be grateful for. And it's a bright moment in the dull month of March," she shared. Here's a look at Elizabeth Smart's life over two decades since her kidnapping. In June 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, by Mitchell and Barzee. Her sister, Mary Katherine, was the only witness to her abduction. The story dominated headlines at the time. Following her return home, Smart became involved in activism, advocating for the AMBER Alert System and supporting recovery programs. Smart founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011. The organization works towards an end to sexual assault and victimization. Her kidnapping has inspired several made-for-TV movies, and she published her memoir in 2013. Smart was kidnapped on June 5, 2002, from her home in Utah, though Mitchell and Barzee eventually took her to California. She later told ABC that the night of her kidnapping was bizarre. 'It couldn't actually be real,' she explained. She added that Mitchell said he would kill her family if she attempted to escape. Smart was eventually found only miles from her home in Sandy, Utah, on March 12, 2003. Smart's captors subjected her to rape daily, something that drove her to the point of contemplating suicide. In an 2017 interview with fellow survivor Daisy Coleman, she explained, 'For me, because I grew up in a very conservative Christian neighborhood, the first time I was raped I remember feeling devastated.' 'I felt like it would be better to be dead than to continue living being a rape victim, being a rape survivor,' she added. 'I felt in that moment if there had been an easy way out, I probably would have taken it.' Smart was found when a couple saw Mitchell walking down the street in Sandy, Utah, with two women. Though Smart was forced to wear a veil over her face, the couple recognized Mitchell from a composite sketch shared on America's Most Wanted. 'We think we found a homeless girl that might be Elizabeth,' Smart's father Ed recalled the police telling him in his 2003 book. He wrote, 'She looked like a homeless girl … I wasn't certain at first that it was her. I went over and put my arms around her and just started bawling. I held her back, looked her in the eyes, and said, 'Is it really you, Elizabeth?' " Smart is now a married mom of three. She and her husband, Matthew Gilmour, first met in Paris, where she reportedly was a missionary for the Church of Latter-Day Saints in 2009. Gilmour later said that as a native of Scotland, he didn't know who Smart was when they met. He told PEOPLE in 2012, 'The thing that attracted me the most to her — at the beginning and now — is how confident she is, especially considering everything she has been through.' Gilmour proposed in 2012. The couple moved to Park City, Utah, after their wedding and have since welcomed three children: daughters Chloe and Olivia, and son James. 'My children have brought so much happiness and joy. To me, they're the very definition of love," she told PEOPLE shortly after welcoming her son. After her kidnapping, Smart produced the Lifetime movie I Am Elizabeth Smart about the ordeal. She has also published a second book, Where There's Hope, about what happened to her. Smart has also remained vocal about the punishment for her captors. While Mitchell is currently serving a life sentence in prison, in 2018, a judge ruled that Barzee could be released from prison. "To my knowledge she has neither complied with medication or treatment and as someone who has experienced first hand just how depraved she truly is, I believe her to be a threat and a danger not just to myself but to the community, any vulnerable person," Smart said of the ruling at the time. In May 2025, Barzee was arrested for visiting two Salt Lake City parks in the month of April. One week after the arrest, Smart broke her silence on Instagram, saying in a video, "Wanda Barzee was recently arrested for entering a public park in Salt Lake City, a place where she's legally barred from going because she's a registered sex offender. Her justification was that she was commanded by the Lord, which unfortunately, is very familiar to me and is probably the most concerning thing, because that's how they justified kidnapping me." If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
New York State Police will conduct AMBER Alert test Thursday
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – New York State Police will be conducting a test of the AMBER Alert System Thursday. NYSP is requesting that anyone who receives the test alert on their phone to click the provided link to the AMBER Alert website to ensure that the alert system is fully functional. The test alert will be sent to mobile phones through the Wireless Emergency Alerts system in AMBER Alert Region 2 and to television and radio stations through the Emergency Alert System. Region 2 consists of Allegany, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. The test alert is scheduled for Thursday, March 6 at 10:00 a.m. For more information about the state's AMBER Alert program, you can visit this website here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
