Man convicted in 1979 kidnap and murder of Etan Patz must have new trial or be freed, appeals court rules

A New York federal appeals court Monday ruled that the former bodega stock clerk convicted in the 1979 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz should receive a new trial or be released from custody.

A New York federal appeals court Monday ruled that the former bodega stock clerk convicted in the 1979 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz should receive a new trial or be released from custody.

Pedro Hernandez in Manhattan criminal court in New York in 2012. Louis Lanzano / AP filePedro Hernandez, 64, was convicted in 2017 of kidnapping and murdering Patz after he confessed to luring the child into a basement as he walked to his bus stop in SoHo. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in connection with the case that rocked New York City. The child was among the first to be placed on a milk carton to seek the public’s help in finding him.

In a 51-page ruling on Monday by a three-judge panel, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, ordering that Hernandez should be retried or released because of a flawed instruction by the New York state judge presiding over his case in response to a jury note about his alleged confessions.

In their appeal, Hernandez's lawyers argued that the instructions were improper and tainted the verdict. His lawyers have previously argued that Hernandez is mentally ill and confessed after hours of police interrogation.

"We conclude that the state trial court contradicted clearly established federal law and that this error was not harmless," a three-judge appeals panel held in its ruling Monday.