Mistrial declared in 1979 kidnapping, murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz
A mistrial was declared Friday in the trial of a man charged with the 1979 kidnapping and murder of a 6-year-old New York City boy.
Manhattan Superior Court Judge Maxwell Wiley declared a mistrial in the case after the jury reported for the third time that it was hopelessly deadlocked on a verdict after 18 days of deliberations, the New York Times, Yahoo News and CNN report.
Pedro Hernandez, a disabled 54-year-old factory worker, had been charged with the kidnapping and murder of Etan Patz, who vanished while walking to a bus stop two blocks from his home on his way to school in 1979.
Hernandez, who worked at a bodega next to the bus stop at the time, told police in 2012 that he had lured Etan into the basement of the store with the promise of a soda and strangled him. The boy’s body has never been found.
But Hernandez’s lawyers contended that his confession was false. They pointed to a different man, a convicted child molester who is now in prison, as a possible suspect in the case.
Hernandez, who showed no reaction when the mistrial was declared, will remain in jail. Prosecutors have asked to set a new trial date in the case, the Associated Press reported.
After the mistrial was declared, Stanley Patz, the father of the victim, said he is still believes Hernandez is guilty.
“He’s a guilty man who’s been conscience-stricken due to his deeds and haunted by demons ever since that day,” he told CNN.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement there is “clear and corroborated evidence” of Hernandez’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Patz was one of the first missing children to be pictured on milk cartons.His disappearance led to major reforms in the way law enforcement officials track child abductions. His parents were at the White House in 1983 when then-President Ronald Reagan declared May 25, the day of his disappearance, National Missing Children’s Day.
