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- Man convicted in 1979 kidnapping and killing of Etan Patz must be retried by June, judge rules (nbcnews.com)
New Deadline Set in Etan Patz Case: Retrial or Release for Convicted Man
NEW YORK, NY – Pedro Hernandez, the man convicted in the notorious 1979 disappearance and killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz, must face a new trial by June 1, 2026, or be released from custody, a federal judge in New York has ruled. This latest development adds another chapter to a decades-long saga that has captivated the city and the nation.
Hernandez, 64, was found guilty in 2017 of kidnapping and murdering Etan Patz and subsequently sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. His conviction stemmed from his admission to luring the child into the basement of a SoHo bodega in 1979. However, that conviction was overturned in July by a New York federal appeals court, citing a flawed instruction given by the state judge during Hernandez’s trial, specifically concerning jury notes about his alleged confessions.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of Manhattan’s federal district court issued Thursday’s ruling, stating unequivocally that if jury selection for a new trial does not commence by June 1, 2026, Hernandez must be set free.
Prosecutors are reportedly seeking a review of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision by the Supreme Court. Judge McMahon acknowledged this but emphasized her role: “It is not my job to read the tea leaves and make predictions or estimates about when or how the Supreme Court will act on any petition for certiorari that may be filed,” she wrote.
The judge also recognized the significant hurdles facing the prosecution, noting that only one member of the original trial team remains at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Furthermore, efforts are underway to locate “dozens of long-scattered witnesses who testified at the last trial some seven years ago.”
“The mandate – my marching orders – simply directs that I set an end date by which any retrial must commence, and order Hernandez freed if a retrial does not commence by that date,” McMahon concluded.
Harvey Fishbein, an attorney representing Hernandez in the state proceedings, expressed his firm stance on Friday. “We again urge the DA that justice demands there not be a 3rd trial in this now 46-year-old case against a 64-year-old man who has unjustly spent the last 13 years in prison,” Fishbein told NBC News. He further asserted that the July Second Circuit Court decision was not a “technicality” but a ruling based on a trial court error that “led to an innocent man with no prior criminal history being convicted.”
Hernandez’s defense attorneys have consistently argued that the trial judge’s instructions were improper and compromised the verdict. They have also previously maintained that Hernandez suffers from mental illness and confessed only after hours of intense police interrogation.
Etan Patz vanished on May 25, 1979, while walking just two blocks from his Manhattan home to a bus stop. His disappearance sparked a massive search and, tragically, he was declared dead in 2001, his body never recovered. The case became a catalyst for the movement to feature missing children’s photos on milk cartons, with Etan being one of the first faces to appear.
Police continued their relentless pursuit of answers, eventually tracking Hernandez to New Jersey in 2012 following a tip from his brother-in-law. According to court documents, Hernandez later confessed to the kidnapping and killing.
He allegedly told investigators he lured Etan into the bodega with the promise of a soda, then choked him to death. He claimed to have placed the boy’s body in a “garbage bag,” then a box, and left it with the trash nearby.
While Hernandez did not provide a motive, he denied any sexual component to the crime.
Court records from July indicate that “Hernandez, who has a documented history of mental illnesses and a low intelligence quotient (‘IQ’), initially confessed after approximately seven hours of unwarned questioning by three police officers.” Following this initial confession, Miranda warnings were administered, and his confession was recorded on video, a process repeated hours later for an Assistant District Attorney. These video confessions were central to the prosecution’s case at trial.
Hernandez’s first trial in 2015 resulted in a hung jury. His second trial, which commenced in September 2016, heavily relied on the alleged confessions.
During deliberations, the jury sent three notes to the judge regarding Hernandez’s confession. The third note specifically asked if, upon finding Hernandez’s initial un-Mirandized confession “not voluntary,” they “must disregard” the later confessions, including the videotaped ones.
The judge’s response, according to the July order, was simply, “the answer is no.” After nine days of deliberation, the jury convicted Hernandez of felony murder and first-degree kidnapping, acquitting him of intentional murder.
The new deadline set by Judge McMahon ensures that this long-unresolved case will once again come to a head, either through a renewed legal battle or the release of the man convicted of a crime that profoundly impacted a nation.