Prosecutors will retry man in death of Etan Patz, whose 1979 disappearance spotlighted missing kids
November 25, 2025
A notorious 1979 missing-child case will go to trial for a third time in New York City. Manhattan prosecutors vowed in a court filing Tuesday to retry the man whose murder conviction was recently overturned in the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz. Etan’s case fueled a national focus on child disappearances and abductions, and Etan was one of the first to appear on milk cartons. A new set of prosecutors will need to bring back witnesses and try to persuade another jury that Pedro Hernandez lured and killed the boy as he walked to his New York City school bus stop. Hernandez’s lawyers insist he is innocent.