Etan Patz Conviction Restored

The Supreme Court reinstated Pedro Hernandez’s murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz, a New York City case that became one of the nation’s most notorious missing-child investigations. In a 6-3 decision, the justices granted an appeal by Manhattan prosecutors and reversed a federal appeals court ruling that had thrown out Hernandez’s 2017 conviction over a jury-instruction issue. Hernandez, now 64, is serving 25 years to life after being convicted of kidnapping and killing Patz, whose body was never found. The ruling spares prosecutors and Patz’s family from a third trial after Hernandez’s first trial ended in a mistrial and his second produced the conviction.