A notorious missing-child case from 1979 is headed to trial for the third time, after New York prosecutors announced Tuesday they will retry Pedro Hernandez, whose murder conviction was recently overturned in the disappearance of six-year-old Etan Patz, reports the Associated Press.
The case, long clouded by uncertainty, will now require prosecutors to reassemble witnesses, revive decades-old memories, and convince another jury that Hernandez lured and killed the boy as he walked to his school bus stop in New York City.
“After thorough review, the district attorney has determined that the available, admissible evidence supports prosecuting” Hernandez on murder and kidnapping charges, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Sarah Marquez wrote, adding that prosecutors “are prepared to proceed.”
Defense attorneys Harvey Fishbein and Alice Fontier said they were “deeply disappointed” by the decision. “We remain convinced that Mr. Hernandez is an innocent man. But we will be prepared for trial and will present an even stronger defense,” they stated.
Hernandez is scheduled to appear in court Monday to discuss next steps. Under federal rulings, jury selection must begin by June 1 or Hernandez must be released from prison.
Etan’s father, Stan Patz, declined to comment Tuesday, though he had previously described Hernandez’s now-overturned conviction as “some measure of justice for our wonderful little boy, Etan.”
Etan vanished on May 25, 1979, the first day his mother allowed him to walk alone to the bus stop. His body was never found, but he was legally declared dead in 2001. The case sparked national awareness of child disappearances, with Etan among the first children featured on milk cartons.
Hernandez, now 64, worked at a nearby corner store at the time. He did not become a suspect until decades later, when authorities learned he had made inconsistent statements over the years about killing a child. In 2012, he told police he strangled Etan after offering him a soda and luring him into the store basement. “Something just took over me,” Hernandez said on video.
With no physical evidence, the confession was central. His lawyers argued it was false, coerced, and the product of mental illness. Hernandez, who has a very low IQ and was on antipsychotic medication, was questioned for seven hours before police read him his rights or began recording.
His first trial ended in a hung jury. He was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to 25 years to life. But in July, a federal appeals court ruled the conviction was tainted by a judge’s “clearly wrong” response to a jury question about Hernandez’s confessions.