Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced today that Pedro Hernandez, 56, has been found guilty in the kidnapping and murder of Etan Patz, 6, who disappeared nearly 40 years ago while walking to the school bus in Soho.
Hernandez was an 18-year-old bodega worker in the neighborhood at the time. He initially confessed that he lured the boy into the store’s basement with the promise of a free soda, then strangled him — however, he later retracted his confession. A court case last year ended in a mistrial after one juror refused to convict.
The young boy’s body was never found.
“The disappearance of Etan Patz haunted families in New York and across the country for nearly four decades,” said Vance. “Bringing closure on Etan’s disappearance to the Patz family has also been among my highest priorities since I took office as district attorney. Today, a jury affirmed beyond all lasting doubt that Pedro Hernandez kidnapped and killed the missing child in Soho, New York, on May 25, 1979.
“Etan’s legacy will endure through his family’s long history of advocacy on behalf of missing children,” Vance said. “However, it is my hope that today’s verdict provides the Patz family with the closure they so desperately deserve. Thanks to all of those who never forgot about Etan or relented in their efforts to find his killer, this case will no longer be remembered as one of the city’s oldest and most painful unsolved crimes.”
