- Title: USA-CRIME/PATZ-FATHER NYC judge declares mistrial in 1979 Etan Patz murder case
- Date: 8th May 2015
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF BUILDING OF PATZ FAMILY RESIDENCE
- Embargoed: 23rd May 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA72UG22224QNJQ9XVJQ6KYS09F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: SHOT 2 CONTAINS PROFANITY
PLEASE NOTE: SHOT 3 AND SHOTS 13-17 ARE FILE
A judge declared a mistrial on Friday (May 08) in the marathon trial of Pedro Hernandez, who had confessed to killing Etan Patz, the New York City boy whose 1979 disappearance raised awareness of the plight of missing and abducted children and their families.
Immediately after State Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley declared a mistrial, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon requested that the case by tried again.
The decision came after the jury, in its 18th day of deliberations at the court in Manhattan, told the judge for a third time that it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. On two previous occasions during the 10-week trial, Wiley ordered the panel to resume deliberations.
Eleven jury members were in favor of conviction, jurors said at a media briefing. Only one held out for acquittal.
Patz vanished on May 25, 1979 as he walked alone for the first time to a school bus stop in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan.
"Etan was a beautiful, outgoing, friendly, curious little kid," said Stan Patz, the boy's father. "He would have made a great adult."
Hernandez, a former deli worker now 54 years old, confessed to police in 2012 that he choked the 6-year-old Patz, stuffed him in a box and left him in a New York alley.
"We are frustrated and very disappointed that the jury has been unable to reach a decision," said Patz. "This man did it. He said it. How many times does a man have to confess before someone believes him? Underneath it all you have a guilty man who finally got it off his chest," Patz said after the jury was dismissed.
In the U.S. justice system, a defendant is presumed innocent of a crime, and the jury must determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defense attorney Harvey Fishbein said, "Well we're terribly disappointed that there was a hung jury. We discussed with the jurors some of the factors and that was educational for us but if the district attorney's office chooses to try this case again and it's their decision, we will be ready and we will be there."
Lawyers for both sides will meet in court on June 10 to discuss what happens next and confirm the decision to move ahead with a retrial.
The defense had tried to put blame on Jose Ramos, who dated a Patz family babysitter and was long considered the prime suspect. Ramos is serving a prison term after being convicted of sexually abusing boys.
A judge found Ramos legally responsible for the death of Patz in a 2004 civil lawsuit brought by the Patz family.
Patz's disappearance brought attention to the issue of missing and abducted children, and his picture was one of the first to appear on milk cartons in the United States.
Hernandez's defense attorneys had argued that Hernandez is mentally ill and his confession was coerced by police.
Hernandez did not take the witness stand during the trial.
The crime long haunted New Yorkers who can recall the massive search for the missing blond boy, who was never found. He was declared dead in 2001.
Hernandez was arrested in 2012 on a tip that he had confessed to a church prayer group in New Jersey.
In a confession videotaped by police, he described luring Patz into the deli where he worked, taking him to the basement and strangling him.
Three members of the church prayer group testified against Hernandez, recounting his tearful confession at the end of a daylong summer religious retreat in 1979. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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