Etan Patz was born October 9, 1972, both parents Jewish, and six years later, on May 25, 1979, he disappeared in SoHo, lower Manhattan, to become the first widely celebrated case of a disappearing child. Etan was the first ever missing child to be pictured on the side of a milk carton.
His disappearance helped create the missing children’s movement, which pushed new legislation and new methods for tracking missing children.
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The case of Etan Patz’s disappearance was reopened in 2010 by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. A self-confessed suspect, Pedro Hernandez, was charged and indicted in 2012 on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. In 2014, the case went through a series of hearings to determine if Hernandez’s statements before receiving the Miranda warning were legally admissible. His trial began in January 2015.
Hernandez said he had choked Patz in a bodega basement after promising him a soda if he followed him down there.
Last Wednesday, the Hernandez case has gone to the jury, which, on Friday, asked to see a missing-person poster that police showed Hernandez before he confessed, according to AP. They also asked to see the Hernandez videotaped confession and a few witness statements.
The jury will come back Monday to resume deliberations.
Hernandez’s lawyer says his client is mentally ill, and had no idea what he was saying to police.
