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Etan Patz Disappearance Suspect Allegedly Said He Stabbed Or Strangled The Boy
By
Jen Chung
Published May 24, 2012
Modified May 24, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 24, 2012
Modified May 24, 2012
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The man who allegedly told NYPD detectives that he killed a missing Soho child in 1979 has been identified as NJ resident Pedro Hernandez. Inside Edition obtained photographs of him and reports, "At the time Etan [Patz], 6, went missing, Hernandez was 18 and lived near the Patz family in Soho. Hernandez now lives in New Jersey and is married with a college-aged daughter." Tomorrow will be the 33rd anniversary of Etan's disappearance.
Pedro Hernandez, via Inside Edition
While Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has not had a press conference about the matter yet, there are numerous sources giving early details about the alleged confession:
NY Post: "The man in custody told investigators that he lured the boy with candy, stabbed him, cut up his remains and put them in plastic bags, a law enforcement source told The Post."
Associated Press: "He told investigators that he suffocated the boy, then put the body in a box, walked down a Manhattan street and dumped the box in an alley, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity."
Daily News: "Pedro Hernandez claims he then stuffed the 6-year-old boy’s body in a bag, then placed that in a box and took it to a hiding place, the sources said. Hernandez, 67, said when he returned two days later to collect the box — it was gone, the sources said."
NY Times: "The man, Pedro Hernandez, told investigators that he had left the box at a location in Manhattan, but when he returned several days later the box was no longer there, the official said. Investigators recently took Mr. Hernandez to that location. A second official also said Mr. Hernandez told the authorities he had strangled the boy and discarded his body."
NBC New York: "A source says police focused on Hernandez after receiving a tip from a relative who remembered Hernandez speaking of having killed a child and disposing of the body at a bodega where he worked in SoHo."
Hernandez apparently told various family members—as well as a "religious mentor"—about the killing. According to CBS News' John Miller, "A tip came in from somebody associated with this individual, Pedro Hernandez, just a couple of days ago and it went into the pile of leads that needed to be run out and when they drove down there yesterday and started talking to him, he started revealing details in a very convincing and detailed way."
At a press conference earlier this morning, Mayor Bloomberg said, "If you remember 33 years ago, this was a tragedy that broke the hearts of millions of people, especially parents across this nation... Let me, however, caution you there is still a lot more investigating to do."
Tagged
1979
cold case
etan patz
missing child
mystery
nypd
pedro hernandez
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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