U.S. Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction in Etan Patz case
06/22/2026 5:00 pm PDT
NEW YORK (TCN) -- The United States Supreme Court has reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez, who was found guilty in 2017 of killing Etan Patz, a New York City child who disappeared in 1979.
On May 25, 1979, 6-year-old Patz walked by himself to the school bus stop for the first time and was never seen again, WNYW reports. Hernandez, now 64, was an employee at a convenience store near the bus stop and did not become a suspect until 2012 when police received a tip about him.
Hernandez was sentenced in April 2017 to at least 25 years in prison. According to his lawyers, he was mentally ill at the time he confessed to the crime and the confession was false.
Reuters reports that on June 22, Hernandez’s conviction was reinstated in an unsigned 6-3 ruling. A lower court had previously thrown out the jury’s guilty verdict and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had requested that the conviction be reinstated.
Per Reuters, Bragg said, “Today the Supreme Court agreed with the findings of multiple lower courts and upheld the trial conviction of Pedro Hernandez for the horrific murder of Etan Patz, which changed a generation of New Yorkers. This office has remained steadfast in its pursuit of justice for Etan and the Patz family and will continue to stand by this important conviction.”
Prosecutors were getting ready for a third trial for Hernandez, CBS News reports. His first ended in a mistrial in 2015, and conviction from the second trial was thrown out because of how the judge answered a juror’s question. The juror reportedly asked the judge if they should disregard Hernandez’s other confessions if he did not confess before having his rights read to him. The judge reportedly said, “The answer is no.”
Patz’s body has never been found, according to USA Today.
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