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NYPD via AP file
Etan Patz vanished in New York on May 25, 1979. Despite an extensive search, his body was never found.
NEW YORK -- A Manhattan grand jury is hearing evidence against Pedro Hernandez in the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz, NBC 4 New York has learned.
A decision is expected by Thursday whether Hernandez will be indicted on kidnapping and murder charges.
Police have said Hernandez confessed in May to attacking Etan. They said he admitted to grabbing the 6-year-old off the street and killing him in the basement of a SoHo bodega where he had been working. The body was then allegedly left in a trash bag out on the street and was never found.
It was 33 years ago when Patz disappeared as he walked alone for the first time to get his school bus.
Developments in the case have made headlines across the globe for decades as police tried to rule in or rule out possible suspects.
Defense lawyers have said Hernandez has a history of mental illness and his confession is unreliable. Hernandez's attorney, Harvey Fishbein, declined to comment to NBC 4 New York on Tuesday about news a grand jury had started meeting.
A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance also declined comment.
Also on NBCNewYork.com: LIPA executive quits after Sandy furor
After his arrest in Camden County, N.J., Hernandez was held at the Bellevue Psychiatric Center but was later moved to Rikers Island after receiving medication.
A court hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 100 Centre St. at which prosecutors are expected to announce any possible charges handed up by the grand jury.
Last week, one-time lead suspect Jose Ramos was released from a Pennsylvania prison on unrelated child sex crime offenses. He was immediately arrested on a Megan’s law violation for allegedly not correctly listing an address where he would be living after his release.
Patz’s family continues to live in Soho. They have not commented on the arrest of Hernandez.
Jonathan Dienst is WNBC’s chief investigative correspondent. Shimon Prokupecz is a WNBC investigative producer.
Leave a Comment:
FRY THE SON OF A B****
Now the family can have some closure and this guy can be put in general population and it gets out he is a child killer.
The ultimate: To have EVERY unsolved case over the past 50 years resolved with each ending with live without parole and no appeals. Let the scum live with scum for the rest of their lives. Resolved no matter who the guilty are or what they represent. Let them kill themselves or each other, if applicable.
New York doesn't have death row
I agree with john1313...Fry the son of a B----!
If he did do it he should be crucified. However he will get out of it. The crazy plea is already in the works. Even being crucified is not enough for what this child and his parents have went through. Hard to imagine hiow they lived day in and day out never knowing for sure.
I hope they cook this bastard @ maximum tempature. Violations against children deserve the death penalty and a special place in hell reserved for the offending individual. I hope he lives a long life in prison only to rot in hell with special circumstances!!!!
Well, we don't know that he's guilty yet. But, if he is, then a death sentence would certainly be fitting. Also fitting would be to throw out whatever remained with the trash.
I agree with all of you. They can't do enough to the murderer but if I recall correctly, law enforcement seemed to lean more towards Ramos rather than Hernandez as the killer. I'd rather the right man fry than to see an innocent man accept the blame for something he didn't do while the guilty SOB walks away from this.
It's a cowardly cop out to play the insanity card (like common felons declaring that marijuana made them rob 'lil old ladies).. So if he's mentally challenged, how did he get through life for 33 years? Was the boy his only kill or is the a-hole a serial killer? At least an on-going serial killer could legitimately declare insanity (just before they pull the lever) but a guy who murdered a young child then twaddled about for 33 years causing little to no problems should not be able to insult any court or jury with such an idiotic declaration (as well as his mouth piece who more than likely gave him the idea to plead insanity). Of course, he could be lying, maybe for infamy.. maybe just to get three hots and a cot, who knows.. But if he's telling the truth then any sympathy should be placed in an air proof mason jar for the duration of this slugs trial.
are you guys joking... first off, we dont fry people anymore... its injection.
plus, im sure you decent citizens know the law where it says "crule and unuasual punishment"
well, lethal injection is actually quite painfull... immagen feeling your heart and lungs stop working, and hte panic that would cause! the first shot literaly paralizes you... that way the peopel watching dont freak out and puke... with out that first shot, you would be feaking out, screaming, beging for life.
plus, having to live life in a crummy prizion is worse than the quick way out. and for those of you who say the prizions would fill up... mabey we should stop busting peopel for drug charges and other things...
First time in this kids life he is allowed to go to the bus stop alone and this happens. What a shame man.
I'm sure his parents trained and warned him of these things but I cannot imagine what was going through this kids mind. Oh man. Poor kid. RIP dude.
Kain,
Fry is an expression. As for feeling your lungs and heart stop, Fugetaboutit. You don't feel a thing. The second your heart stops, you're immediately unconscious.
Question; What's a "prizion"? I know but really?! (Spell Check) It works and you could have used it for many other words in your post....
Have a nice day...
He was the first milk carton boy, back in the day it was unheard of that these things happened, sure do miss that..
I'd like to see a crocodile eat him.
I feel sorry for all families that have to go through that. But wasnt this just on CSI new york within the last 2 weeks.
Very sad. Finding this killer is wonderful but, nothing can bring back Etan. This family is irretrievably broken. I hope this helps in the healing process. Maybe a lot of you will find this wrong, but I am extremely sorry for all involved. This killer had parents too. They both died with broken hearts if they knew. An act like this has ramifications through the generations. This is not a political discussion but a societal tragedy.
Shouldn't we see what the Grand Jury says? Shouldn't we wait for him to go to trial before we convict him. I pray none of you ever have to face any kind of charges and get hung before you make it to court. Maybe the next time I go on jury duty I should just walk in with the he is guilty attitude.
WeAllHaveOpinions,
Ummmmm,....Nope.
Just "my" opinion.....
Police have said Hernandez confessed in May to attacking Etan. They said he admitted to grabbing the 6-year-old off the street and killing him in the basement of a SoHo bodega where he had been working.
So, what would your opinion be going into jury duty knowing the above information? Your post suggests that you're defending this guy. Sounds that way when I read it anyway.... I can understand the old "innocent until proven guilty" but when they confess to begin with, it's sure as hell hard to go that way...
He confessed to doing it we all have opinions..... so read before you speak.... da.... I feel for his family so sad..................he needs his balls cut off.......after the details are revealed and we know for a fact it is him....... He needs tortured and hung and the family of the boy let loose on him that is justice.
How do you know what you know Kain?
With a name like you chose maybe you will tell us you've been there and back?!
Meg, can you really say, for this family, that they are irretrievably broken?
CorrectIt: the last article I read of the family of Etan said they had kept the same apartment and phone number. I would say they were devestated and this one way or another haunted them, wouldn't it you if you had a child of that age go missing and never knew where he was or if he were dead.
It was not long ago too that they checked the basement somewhere for any signs of the boy, perhaps this was where the guy did the deed. If they are able to prove he did it by what they know and have put together for the last 33 yrs, I hope he gets what he deserves. He may have family too, but he has lived his life free and doing what he wanted while his victim's family lived always looking, waiting and wondering.
How sad for the family that the body of their son has never been located. Hopefully someday he might be found and he can receive the proper burial that every child deserves.
It's been 33 years by the time they find that body it's gonna be decomposed and probably already dissolved into skeleton remains by now.
@beck15 That would be nice but being he was put in the trash some 33 years ago mostly likely he is under billions of pounds of trash and the state would never spend the money to even look for his body.
so sad
I read somewhere that New York puts its garbage on barges and dumps it at sea...I guess they could have a belated memorium for a burial at sea.
Not accomplished with the same dignity, but he sleeps with a lot of sailors buried at sea. Probly playing poker with some of them at Davy Jone's locker.
RIP
tom,
That was a generous and thoughtful post. I agree...
Yes Tom and Creek,
Etan is in good company. RIP to him, and all victims of violence.
Tom, Thank you for you thoughtful comment. You helped me see something positive in this sad sad story.
Hopefully they try him and fry him.
New York doesn't have death row so it's gonna be life.
Personally I think that ALL Child murderers should get the death sentence. No matter what state. With DNA and the new Forensic technology they have today, if there is NO doubt that that person did it DEATH. They get 6mos to file ONE appeal, and that's it.
A truer justice would be letting all parents, uncles, aunts, siblings etc get to have One hour alone with the Baby killer after the conviction. That would certainly lower the prison population. But since that would never be allowed, the upper choice would work.
i actually heard that to get your DNA certificaion, you can go on the interent and in like an hour or 2 pass the test and start working at a crime lab. DNA is not a science...
and forensic tech that they have is not as advanced as you think.
wow you really think you can get a hour class for DNA. LMFAO. you are funny
Never mind Kain; he sure thinks he knows all kinds of things: He never graduated from first grade!
And, Janine, how are you proposing that a DNA sample be taken or retrieved in this case? By the way, whose DNA sample? The killer or the victim? Do you see any logistics problem with your proposal?
If this guy committed this horrible crime, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Mental illness should no longer be an "excuse". If they are that mentally ill, they should never be amongst society again.
Why would they let this Hernandez out when he has committed other sexual crimes against children? Once a pedophile show themselves for who they are, they should never be on the street again!
I am so sick of these awful offenders, murderers, rapists, and pedophiles being released to harm more people. We need to make these crimes a one-time offense and they are DONE! Never, never a second chance!
How sad!!!
If he is mentally ill his confession will never hold up in court. The solution is to lock him up until he dies in a mental hospital if he is too ill to stand trial. We must prevent the next Ethan Patz from becoming a victim.
even if he is mentally ill his confession will hold up in court but the case will not go to trial until he is deemed competent to stand trial. That can take a while. Unfortanatly if he goes to a mental hospital he will be protected from the other patients. However if he goes to jail....
Some actual Evidence, other than the confession of a nutjob, might not hurt either. I'd like to assume they have some and just aren't publicizing it. Otherwise, good luck with that.
They'd have to prove he was mentally ill "33 yrs" ago & not his mental state now.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised that they find him mentally ill "now" and say he is making up the whole story to begin with. They'll probably say he may have been present during this child's death but not responsible...
I worked for years with mentally ill people. None of them killed anyone. "Insanity" is used to excuse away all kinds of horrific acts. The bottom line is Etan is dead, this family is in ruins and finally after all these years someone is finally found. Someone is responsible for this act. That person has to be held responsible. If we are to maintain any kind of civil society, people like this need to be stopped and isolated...
So Meg, which institution (group, company or whomever) did you work for? I am certainly calling your hand on some of the statements you are making.
If Hernandez did leave the poor child out with the trash, he will never be found. Back then, the eastern seaboard took all the trash out to sea and dumped it. I feel so badly for Etan's parents. Now they know their precious little boy will never be found, but I hope they find some closure in knowing what happened to him and who did it.
NEVER let your kids go alone not anymore. My kids are all grown now and protected I am happy. I did not ever let them walk ride a bike or have unknown sitters. IT PAID OFF
If I'm not mistaken, Etan was one of John Walsh's first "America's Most Wanted" stories. I've followed every story I could about little Etan. I do hope they find the killer and resolve this mystery soon so his family can finally get the peace and closure they desperately need.
I think he was the first Milk carton kid
Yes this was this first case like this. My mom who was reporter agonized over it. She has since died without knowing whatever happened to Etan. She never forgot about Etan. I hope this finally brings closure to the family and this that were emotionally involved.
this sade excuss of a man is a good example of y they should kill child molesters,or keep them in prison for life.RIP etan
yep...i agree...
God bless you sweet angel Etan,
We have to stop these idiots that prey on children, the elderly and animals- those that have no chance of defending themselves... God help us all.
Comments # 11 and # 12 deleted, derails.
RIP Etan. I pray your family will finally have closure. You lost your innocent life in a very violent way. I pray you are with the angles now and they are all giving you peace.
hope at long last ethan family after waiting thirty three years finaly gets closer by maybe this monster if the grand jury decides to indite him being tried and put away provide given his mental history his confession is real. for after so long they like John walsh finaly got with adam some long over due closer. even though since the guy claimed he disposed of ethans body they will never sadly get what they want ethan back in the flesh so they can bury his corpse. at least maybe now they finaly after 33 years of wanting answers get justice.
Alot of times police arrest suspects just to close old cases,and force confessions out of people(to this day that to me is mind blowing).But if he is guilty,he does deserves to die immediately,just because he was out for so long.And if he is mentally nuts,who knows what else he did.
This Sleaze Ball who killed the poor child, and put him in a trash bag, well mental illness or not, kill him slowly, stuff him in a trash bag, and then in case it into a 6 foot hole filled w/ quick drying cement, and to make sure he suffers enough, make sure he is still alive, and let this Sleaze Ball suffer just like Etan Did!! an eye for an eye I always Say!!!!
You have already convicted him.
If your reading comprehension was over the 2nd grade level, the story points out that he is undergoing evaluation to make sure he is not suffering from a condition in which people are known to confess to things they didn't do for psychological reasons. i.e. needing to feel important, schizophrenic hallucinations and many many more.
Can you comprehend that? As far as your idea of "justice".....I think you should seek psychiatric help for your sadistic tendancies.
Hey bleeding heart tom - bet you would feel different if it was one of your kids that were killed. stinking liberals always defending the criminals while more innocent people get killed everyday. The guy is mental, reason enough to lock him up forever. He should never have been out on the streets from the begining.
Wow alot of people want to see this guy dead even though he could have said he killed the boy just to get attention. Weather or not he's guilty it highly unlikely they be able to convict him unless they get some sort of evidence. Some things will remain unanswered.
He maybe innocent, he should still be locked up for the rest of his life. To protect him from society and to protect society from him.
This was the first case that really highlighted the case of children being abducted. I sure hope that this solves the case. My mom who was a reporter at the time and said this case haunted her. She wanted it solved because she knew the implications. I know most people focus on the family but my mom really worried her self sick. She was worried that this might happen to me and my brother and sister. She prayed and hoped that this would never happen to another family. My mother has gone to her great reward but she never let this go. I really hope this case is finally solved. My mom would happy that the family finally has closure.
Like someone else said, he will never stand trial as his confession will be thrown out with the bath water. This shat will never end. I have a strong feeling the police bungled this case up from the start.
that aint so. he confessed he will ramain locked up somewhere until he is deemed competent to stand trial. Otherwise he will be admitted to a psych facillity indefinatly.
Nothing will every bring complete closure for the family who lost a child to a murderer. Especially without a body to bury. I'm sorry for the loss.
why? what is there to gain in life by abducting a young boy and murdering him and disposing of him in the trash pickup? i'd say death of a thousand cuts for hernandez is even probably too good for this bastard.
It is very sad ...but if they don't do this correctly he is free, maybe he is mental, all the more reason to put him down, save tax money, save time.
Hey Adolf ifuahadclue
maybe he is mental, all the more reason to put him down
That has been done before, lets wait for the evidence at the trial to pronounce guilt. Be very careful what you wish for, they might come after all the mentally ill people and you would be gone.
I liked the movie "STAR CHAMBER"; Oh I wish there was such thing as that.
I just don't know what to say. Sometimes these mentally ill bastards just like to torment the family even if they did it or not. If he did and i'm not defending him, he should be punished. I wish i could say something comforting to the family. I'm very sorry.
Ah yes.."1979" That was a time when crimes such as murder and kidnapping was of the norm. Back then people just kidnapped or murdered a kid and left the body for the cops to find. Now a days the same crime is committed and the body is found with Satanic verses burned into the flesh or the lines from some Marilyn Manson song carved into the forehead.
Whatever happened to the good ol days when "normal murderes" roamed the streets?..
What kind of parents did this poor little 6 yr old have? What parent in their right mind would let there 6 yr old walk to school or get on the bus by himself in a big crime city like he lived and all the weird do live too. They are not much of parents to let a 6 yr old go off by himself like that. I would investigate the parents and find out if they had a large insurnace policy on the little boy. They parents are about as wacko and weirdo as the guy supposely killed the boy. This is the parents fault,they may have well killed the boy for let him off in a big crime city all by himself. They shouldn't and don't have the right to grief over this child for they didn't care when they sent him out into the big crime city by himself.may the little boy RIP and the murder rot in Hell and the parents rot in hell with him for abandoning this baby boy and making him go out alone in a big crime city.poor baby.
33 years ago parents let their children walk alone. I used to walk 1/2 mile to school alone starting in the first grade. that didn't make my parents bad, it's just back then it was a rarity for this things to happen. nowadays I don't think I would let a child walk along until they hit high school and that still does not protect them.
i agree 100% jones D
Exokie- You are a @!$%#ing disgrace to say that @!$%# about two parents who lost their child in a horrific manner! This was 1979 you dumb @!$%#...things were different in how crimes like these made news. These days you see it all over the internet. You are sick for saying that @!$%#. Just from your rant you shouldn't have the right to reproduce. Hell you shouldn't even be aloud in society.
i agree with exokie
I remember back in the 60's when I walked 3/4 of a mile uphill to school in 3 feet of snow, then walked back home from school uphill in 5 feet of snow..........................
And we always called the kids who's parents drove them "sissies"....That idea doesn't even occur to me nowadays.
Every morning and evening when I see young kids walking....I look around to see if anything looks out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, child molesters are the 'guy next door' nowdays.
I always tell my wife if I ever saw something, the cops would only be needed for crowd control while the coroner scraped the pervert off the street.
I'd rather get killed intervening than watch some child be molested or kidnapped.
Back then people weren't so scared. I started walking to and from school at 5 years old! I walked home a mile everyday from kindergarten - alone - through snow, sleet, rain, or hail! That was in the early 50's! That is how it was done back then. We had to be "tough" to handle life. Thank goodness no evil became me - it certainly could have!
When my daughter was that age, there was no way she would walk home alone at that age. I picked her up or walked with her! When I was working, she was in after-school care and I picked her up after work.
I too think 6 was very young in a city like New York, but we don't know all the circumstances. It is not OK to blame the parents and tear them apart. I think the guilt they have is probably killing them already. "If only", etc. At this point they need support to continue living after such a horrible tragedy occurred.
pixie1......what a hypocrite.