Etan Patz Case: Appeals Court Overturns Conviction, Orders New Trial or Release for Pedro Hernandez

A federal appeals court has delivered a stunning blow to the prosecution in the infamous Etan Patz case, ruling on Monday that Pedro Hernandez, convicted in the 1979 kidnapping and murder of the 6-year-old, must receive a new trial or be released from custody. This decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns Hernandez’s 2017 conviction, citing a critical ‘flawed instruction’ given by the state trial judge to the jury regarding his alleged confessions.

Hernandez, 64, was sentenced to 25 years to life after confessing to luring Patz into a basement. However, his legal team has consistently maintained that he is mentally ill and that his confessions were coerced during extensive police interrogation. The three-judge appeals panel concluded that the trial court’s error in instructing the jury on the voluntariness of Hernandez’s initial, un-Mirandized confession was not harmless and contradicted federal law.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has stated it is reviewing the decision. In contrast, Hernandez’s legal team welcomed the ruling, asserting that he has been unjustly imprisoned for over a decade. They urged the District Attorney’s office to drop the charges and shift focus to identifying those truly responsible for Etan Patz’s disappearance.

Etan Patz vanished on May 25, 1979, from his SoHo neighborhood, becoming one of the first missing children featured on milk cartons nationwide. His body was never found, and despite being declared dead in 2001, the investigation continued, leading to Hernandez’s arrest in 2012. This latest development reopens a painful and long-standing chapter in one of New York City’s most enduring and tragic cold cases.

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