Supreme Court reinstates conviction in 1979 Etan Patz murder

The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a murder conviction connected to the disappearance decades ago in 1979 of 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City.

"On May 25, 1979, 6-year-old Etan Patz left his family’s apartment in lower Manhattan to take a bus to school. Before boarding the bus, he stopped to buy a drink at a bodega where respondent Pedro Hernandez, then 18 years old, was working.  Patz never got on the bus and was never seen alive again," the document notes.

Hernandez, 64, has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. 

He was convicted in 2017.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement,"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. I thank the prosecutors in my office, especially our Appellate attorneys, for their dedication and perseverance," he added.

"The Second Circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to relief under §2254(d)," the opinion declares. It states that "we grant the State’s petition for a writ of certiorari, reverse the judgment of the Second Circuit, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion." 

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson "would deny the petition for a writ of certiorari," the decision noted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

This is a breaking news story and will be updated