Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction in 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz
Updated on: June 22, 2026 / 2:19 PM EDT / CBS/AP
TL;DR
- The Supreme Court reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez in the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz.
- The justices voted 6-3, granting an appeal from New York prosecutors against a federal appeals court decision.
- Hernandez will continue serving his sentence of 25 years to life, eligible for parole in 2037.
- Hernandez confessed to the crime but his lawyers claim it was false due to mental illness and coercive police questioning.
- Etan Patz was 6 years old when he disappeared in 1979 and has never been found.
- The appeals court had overturned the conviction because the judge's answer to a jury question about confessions was deemed insufficient.