The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez in the 1979 killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz, siding with New York prosecutors in a closely watched case that has gripped the city for decades.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices reversed a federal appeals court ruling that had thrown out the conviction and potentially set the stage for a third trial.
The unsigned opinion marked a significant victory for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office had argued that the lower court improperly disregarded the outcome of Hernandez’s 2017 retrial. That conviction followed a lengthy, five-month proceeding featuring dozens of witnesses and extensive testimony about Hernandez’s confessions…