State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick last week declared in a civil case that the death of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who disappeared from his home in Soho on his way to P.S. 3 in the Village on May 25, 1979, was the fault of Jose Ramos, a convicted child molester currently serving time in Pennsylvania. Etan was declared legally dead in 2001 but the criminal case is still open after 25 years. Ramos, who had been a former boyfriend of Etan’s babysitter, has not admitted any connection to the case.
Justice Kapnick’s ruling, however, allows Etan’s father, Stanley Patz, to sue Ramos to prevent him from profiting from Etan’s death and could also be used to deny Ramos parole.
