The U.S. Supreme Court reinstates a murder conviction tied to the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City. Multiple outlets report that Pedro Hernandez was convicted in 2017 of kidnapping and murdering Patz. The conviction was later overturned by a federal appeals court, which ruled Hernandez was entitled to a new trial, prompting prosecutors to prepare for another proceeding. The Supreme Court grants the state’s appeal and restores the conviction, avoiding what would have been a potential third trial.
The decision is described as a 6–3 ruling. Fox News and others say the court grants review after prosecutors asked the justices to undo the appeals court’s decision. ABC, CBS, and The New York Times report that the case concerns Patz’s disappearance after he left his home on the way to a school bus stop in May 1979 and that he has never been found.
The three dissenting justices are identified in reporting as Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Independent details beyond the broad procedural outcome are limited across the sources provided.
