A picture without a known date, shared by Stanley K. Patz on May 28, 2010, tells a chilling story. It’s a flier from the New York Police Department, showing his son, Etan Patz, who mysteriously disappeared from New York on May 25, 1979. An intensive search, one of the largest for a missing child, was launched yet remained unsuccessful for two decades, at the conclusion of which Etan was sadly declared dead.
In a twist of events, the office of the district attorney in Manhattan decided to revisit the case, by re-examining the evidences against the prime accused. This person of interest was a child molester, already serving a 20-year sentence in a Pennsylvania prison.
Adding another layer to this infamous missing child case, the individual convicted for the homicide of 6-year-old Etan back in 1979 was granted a new trial on Monday. This was a result of a federal appeals court overturning the previous guilty verdict.
The man, Pedro Hernandez, had been serving a prison term from 25 years to life since his conviction in 2017. He was nabbed in 2012, catalyzing the end to the exhausting, decades-long quest for clues surrounding Etan’s sudden disappearance on the first day he ventured to his school bus stop solo.
The conviction evasion came due to certain inconsistencies regarding the way the trial judge had managed a note from the jury during the 2017 proceedings. This was Hernandez’s second trial. His first trial had come to a standstill due to a hung jury back in 2015.
The decision made by the court noted not only was the state trial court’s guidance ‘clearly wrong’, but it caused ‘manifest prejudice’. The court thus mandated Hernandez’s release, unless the state arranges a new trial within an acceptable timeframe determined by the lower court judge.
At the time of Etan’s disappearance, Hernandez, then a teenager, worked at a convenience store in the same Manhattan community where Etan resided. Hernandez himself is originally from Maple Shade, New Jersey.
In an unexpected turn, Hernandez admitted to taking Etan’s life through strangulation. However, his defense lawyers challenge this claim, attributing the confession to mental illness and alleging it to be theorized and untrue.
Etan Patz left a significant mark on the nation even post his disappearance. His image was one of the earliest ones to be displayed on milk cartons – a novel initiative at that time to search for missing children.
The tragic incident involving Etan brought about a gripping wave of apprehension across the nation, making parents increasingly vigilant about their children’s safety. The era saw a sharp decline in the earlier commonplace practice of letting children casually wander unsupervised in their neighborhoods.
The tireless advocacy of the Patz family resonated nationwide. Their efforts played a crucial role in setting up a dedicated helpline for missing children. Moreover, they actively worked towards streamlining the information sharing process regarding such cases amongst law enforcement agencies.
May 25, the date of Etan’s disappearance, serves as an annual, grim reminder of the loved ones lost, designated as National Missing Children’s Day. This day is not just a memo to remember Etan, but also all children whose whereabouts remain unknown.