Etan Patz Case: Federal Appeals Court Overturns 2017 Conviction, Orders New Trial for Pedro Hernandez

A federal appeals court has overturned the 2017 guilty verdict against Pedro Hernandez in the notorious 1979 killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz, ordering a new trial. Hernandez, who has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life, was arrested in 2012 following decades of investigation into Etan’s disappearance, which occurred on the first day he was allowed to walk alone to his school bus stop in New York City.

The appeals court cited a “clearly wrong” and “manifestly prejudicial” response by the trial judge to a jury note during Hernandez’s 2017 trial—his second, after a 2015 deadlock. The ruling mandates Hernandez’s release unless a new trial commences within a “reasonable period.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, is currently reviewing the decision. This trial predates current DA Alvin Bragg’s tenure. Hernandez’s attorney, Harvey Fishbein, declined to comment. Etan’s parents, who tirelessly advocated for justice and improvements in missing-child cases nationwide, have been contacted for comment. The Etan Patz case significantly influenced the national conversation around missing children, leading to the establishment of a national hotline and the designation of May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day.

Former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr., who prioritized reexamining the case and oversaw the trials, expressed sorrow over the potential loss of justice. Etan vanished on May 25, 1979, after his mother allowed him to walk to his bus stop. Despite extensive searches, no trace of him was ever found, and he was declared legally dead in 2001.

Hernandez, a teenager working at a local convenience store at the time of Etan’s disappearance, was identified as a suspect in 2012 after a tip. He confessed to luring Etan into the store’s basement, choking him, and disposing of his body in a box with curbside trash. However, his lawyers argue the confession was false, stemming from mental illness and a low IQ, and have pointed to another suspect who made incriminating statements but was never charged.

The federal appeal focused on Hernandez’s 2012 police interrogation, where he confessed before being read his rights. The appeals court found the trial judge’s instruction to the jury regarding the validity of Hernandez’s subsequent recorded confessions, if the initial unrecorded one was deemed invalid, was insufficient and potentially misled jurors.

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