Ultimately, the jurors agreed with the prosecutions arguments discrediting Mr. Ramos as a potential suspect, and found that the defense had not raised enough doubt. Prosecutors sought to portray Mr. Hernandez as mercurial and controlling yet deeply religious and desperate to unburden himself of the guilt he felt for attacking Etan. While police scoured SoHo searching for clues and questioned Hernandez's co-workers at the bodega, the suspect somehow eluded police and moved to South Jersey a short time later. A Manhattan jury convicted Mr. Hernandez on the ninth day of deliberations after the second of two lengthy trials that brought renewed attention to Etans disappearance on May 25, 1979, as he walked to his school bus stop alone in SoHo for the first time. Different theories were floated, and various suspects emerged, including a convicted child molester named Jose Ramos, whom the authorities pursued for years. His lawyers argue that Mr. Hernandez, 56, has limited intelligence and a personality disorder that makes it difficult for him to distinguish between reality and fantasy. The search, which brought about a new wave of news media coverage, did not turn up Etans remains. Luckily one finally pointed authorities in the direction of Pedro Hernandez, who was an 18-year-old stockboy at the bodega beside Etans bus stop at the time of the kidnapping. Unfortunately, in the end, we dont believe this will resolve the story of what happened to Etan back in 1979.. The concrete floor was torn up and investigators sifted through the dirt and soil below for evidence. CBS News Poll: How GOP primary race could be Trump v. Trump fatigue, Debt ceiling: Biden calls congressional leaders to meet, Illinois highway pile-up causes multiple deaths, police say, Trump motion to declare mistrial in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit denied, Transgender Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr sues over censure, Debt ceiling standoff heats up over veterans' programs, U.S. tracking high-altitude balloon first spotted off Hawaii, Biden administration ending vaccine mandate for federal workers, travelers, The weirdest items passengers leave behind in Ubers. The man, at 30, is 11 years younger than Etan Patz would now be. sgoldstein@nydailynews.com or follow on Twitter. GraBois eventually found out that Ramos had been in custody in Pennsylvania in connection with an unrelated child molestation case. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The tip revealed that Hernandez had admitted to previously killing a young boy while he was attending an open confessional at his church in 1982. As a result, fewer parents are willing to allow their children to walk to school, photos of missing children have been more widely distributed (for example, on milk cartons) and the concept of "stranger danger" has been promoted, the idea that all adults not known to the child must be regarded as potential sources of danger.[53]. The boys remains have never been found. A former store clerk was convicted of murder on Tuesday in one of the nation's most haunting missing-child cases, the disappearance of six-year-old Etan Patz on the way to his school bus stop 38 . But there was no hard evidence linking Ramos to the crime. The defense also argued that Mr. Ramos, the convicted child molester, had the motive and the opportunity to have been responsible for Etans disappearance. But a jury in February ultimately found Mr. Hernandez's statements compelling and determined. Lost Child: What Happened to Etan Patz? - ABC News On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his SoHo apartment in New York City for the first time by himself to walk two blocks to catch the school bus. The man, who is 11 years younger than Etan would be today, told ProPublica he thought the whole thing was a hoax. 2023 BBC. Bringing closure on Etans disappearance to the Patz family has also been among my highest priorities since I took office, said Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney. My legs started giving out, she said in court last year. In 2001, however, the family obtained a court order declaring Etan dead as part of a lawsuit in which a convicted child molester was held responsible for their son's death. The Disappearance Of Etan Patz, The Original Milk Carton Kid [10][44][45] In 2001, the tribute spread worldwide. Pedro Hernandez Gets 25 Years to Life in Murder of Etan Patz Almost 33 years to the day after Etans disappearance, the police announced that they had made an arrest. "We can only hope that these developments bring some measure of peace to the family," he said. The parents of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who disappeared from a New York City street while walking to the school bus, have moved out of the city 40 years after losing their son. Everything that investigators have collected, including numerous swabs that will be tested for DNA evidence, is being sent to the FBIlaboratory in Virginia. He walked away carrying a $1 bill, planning to buy a soda on the way. His youngest daughter, Becky, testified that he had discussed having hallucinations of demons and an angelic woman in white. (Pool). The couples son Ari, who was 2 when his brother went missing, lives in the Aloha State. And another man was so insistent he was Etan that the NYPD had to take his DNA to prove that he was not the missing boy. In the world of the Etan Patz casewhich is the world of New York, of frenzies, and of children and bad urban dreamsit made sense, when news came on Thursday morning that a man . Defense lawyers also pointed to a different man who was long the prime suspect a convicted Pennsylvania child molester who made incriminating remarks about Etans case in the 1990s and who had dated a woman acquainted with the Patzes. His body was never found but he was legally declared dead in 2001. [41][42] Sentencing was scheduled on February 28, with Hernandez facing 25 years to life in prison. Their daughter, Shira, was 8 at the time of Etans disappearance. Hill Tele:212.694.7781 FBI Special Agent Tom McDonald Tele: 212.384.1000 Such was the pain the Patz family endured as one delusional young man, and others, somehow attached themselves to this infamous case. In 2017, Pedro Hernandez who in 1979 was an 18-year-old stockboy at a Soho deli was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Etan, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. I felt like something just took over me.. Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy from Manhattan, NY, disappeared after walking the two blocks to his bus stop alone for the first time on May 25, 1979. After an unsuccessful appeal attempt, Hernandez was sentenced on April 18, 2017 to 25 years to life in federal prison. [9][10], Etan's father Stanley was a professional photographer and had a collection of photographs he had taken of his son. first to report the activity in the SoHo building Thursday, Zimmerman released on bail in Martin shooting case, Five big questions as the John Edwards trial starts, $60 light bulb cut for Earth Day to $25. He said he didnt expect the first jury to deadlock, but said the prosecutors presentation answered questions for him about his sons disappearance. He also ordered a hearing to determine whether the defendant's statements could be used at trial. Mr. Hernandezs defense has centered largely on undermining his credibility. The 56-year-old former store clerk was also given 25 years to life for kidnapping, with both sentences to . I had no idea who Etan Patz was.". His lawyers depicted Mr. Hernandez as struggling with a mental illness that loosened his grip on reality. Did they find the truth? In 2014, the case went through a series of hearings to determine whether or not Hernandez's statements before he received his Miranda rights were legally admissible at trial. However, it is my hope that todays verdict provides the Patz family with the closure they so desperately deserve.. [23] A law enforcement official identified the man as 51-year-old Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, New Jersey, and said that Hernandez had confessed to strangling the child. He also stated that he had left this boy alive afterward, meaning the boy would have presumably been able to return home unlike Etan. Hernandez will not be eligible for parole for 25 years. He said she was crying. At the time, Mr. Hernandez was an 18-year-old high school dropout who had recently come to New York from Camden, N.J. Their arguments stirred doubt among members of the jury. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Street piano confiscated as public 'break rules', Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, US rock band Aerosmith announce farewell tour, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, Trump rape accuser says her generation stayed quiet, Disney faces countersuit in feud with Florida. Arkansas woman indicted for selling stolen body parts to Pennsylvania man, DNA solves "decades-old mystery" after woman's remains found in 1995, Operator in limo crash that killed 20 goes on trial in Schoharie, NY, NYPD officer Troy Patterson dies 33 years after being shot in robbery, $3 million fentanyl shipment to Maine restaurant prompts arrest. The case was reopened in 2010 by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. In May 1979, the 6-year-old had begged his mother to let him walk to the school bus stop alone. The search uncovered bone fragments, but they turned out to belong to pets. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/nyregion/what-happened-to-etan-patz.html. On May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared in the Soho neighborhood of New York City walking to the school bus stop. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He became one of the first vanished children pictured on a milk carton. The investigator asked the man where he had gone to school and lived in the past. His daughter testified that he talked about seeing visions of angels and demons and once watered a dead tree branch, believing it would grow. Hernandez was arrested in May 2012 - after Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance re-opened the Patz case - when family members told authorities that he admitted to killing Patz. "Obviously, I was surprised," the man, who asked not to be identified, told the news outlet. The caller had been watching television and saw the police and the FBI digging up a basement on Prince St., looking for clues about a boy who had vanished from sight in 1979. He put on his favorite hat, an Eastern Airlines cap. On Friday morning, at the very hour that Etan Patz disappeared exactly 33 years before, a white sanitation truck pulled up just past the New York City storefront where police believe the 6-year. Deliberations were difficult, said Tommy Hoscheid, the foreman of the jury. Prosecutors have suggested Hernandez faked or exaggerated his symptoms. The FBI appears to believe that missing Etan Patz, who vanished aged six from a New York City street in 1979, could still be alive. Hernandez was interrogated in 2015, and eventually confessed to luring Etan into the bodega, strangling him, and dumping his body in the trash nearby. Pedro Hernandeza suspect who confessedwas charged and indicted later that year on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. The End of the Etan Patz Case? | The New Yorker This 90% confession proved problematic, since there was nothing definitive to link Ramos to the crime. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Several containers of rubble and sand from the property were hauled away and preserved in case officials need to revisit the excavation. "[33], On December 12, 2012, Hernandez pled not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping in a New York court. Etan was declared dead in 2001, but his case was not closed. NEW YORK -- A former store clerk was convicted Tuesday of murder in one of the nation's most haunting missing-child cases, nearly 38 years after 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared on the way to. This story has been shared 402,356 times. When police searched the drain pipe, they found photographs of Ramos and young boys who resembled Etan. FBI artist says age-adjusted image of Etan Patz resembles teen in photo Something just took over me, Hernandez said in one of a series of recorded confessions to police and prosecutors. A judge ordered Jose Antonio Ramos, who knew Etan's babysitter, to pay $2m (1.3m) to the Patzes. He also confessed to his former wife before they married. Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy, vanished as he walked the almost two blocks to his school bus stop in Manhattan alone for the first time. Another juror, Mike Castellon, called the defense strategy spaghetti on the wall tossing out numerous theories, none of which stuck for him. Investigators collect hair, paper in search for Etan Patz, missing since 1979. At first, detectives considered the Patzes to be possible suspects but quickly determined they had no involvement. Read about our approach to external linking. [7] He was wearing a black "Future Flight Captain" pilot cap, a blue corduroy jacket, blue jeans and blue sneakers with fluorescent stripes. That boy was Etan Patz, a 6-year-old, who disappeared while walking alone for the first time to a school bus stop near his Manhattan home.