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Etan Patz's Alleged Killer Raises Questions Amongst Ex-NYPD And FBI
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 27, 2012
Modified May 27, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 27, 2012
Modified May 27, 2012
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Pedro Hernandez knows "intimate details" about the disappearance and murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz, and that information is what makes the NYPD confident in their case against Hernandez. According to the Post, the details could include certain scars or birthmarks on Patz, or what the boy was wearing when he disappeared. "Pretty seasoned detectives are confident this is the guy based on information he had," a source says. "And the circle of people who know is very narrow. They’re not even telling other people in the unit.” But another source tells the Daily News that the FBI isn't convinced: “The bosses are very skeptical. They don’t believe him. He’s got mental problems and there’s no other evidence. They think we moved too fast.”
Robert McGuire, who was the NYPD commissioner when Patz disappeared from his Soho neighborhood in 1979, tells the Post that it doesn't make sense that this would be Hernandez's only crime. “If you have that uncontrollable urge towards children, you do that more than once in your life. You are not a happily married guy who is a member of a Pentecostal church," McGuire says. “I have done a fair amount of investigation of these types of cases, and I don’t remember [any] case of one person who acted out just once."
The Times reports that Hernandez, who has a "long psychiatric history," has been taking the antipsychotic olanzapine. “This is not a drug that is usually given to people who are normal,” Dr. Norman Sussman, a pyschopharmacologist and professor at NYU's School of Medicine says. “In the scheme of drugs, these are pretty heavy drugs.”
Despite NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly's denial that police spoke to Hernandez, then 18, at the time of Patz's disappearance, the Times reports, "the extent of contact between detectives and Mr. Hernandez is unknown." One detective involved with the investigation told the paper that he believed that police spoke with Hernandez, as was alleged in earlier reports, but that he might have provided no useful information.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Paul Browne says that the detectives' report that bears Hernandez's name states that the people in the bodega had not seen Patz.
Tagged
etan patz
fbi
missing persons unit
nypd
pedro hernandez
soho
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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