In 1979, young Etan Patz was finally allowed to walk to school by himself in New York.  He never made it to school and he vanished without a trace.  Police started a massive search for the boy but couldn’t find Etan or even a body.

In 2012, police arrested Pedro Hernandez after he confessed to his brother-in-law about killing Etan Patz.  In fact, Hernandez confessed to many people, over the years, that he had killed someone.  He told the police the details of how he lured Etan into a store with an offer of candy and a pop and then how Hernandez strangled the boy in the basement of the store.

The Manhattan District Attorney charged Hernandez with murder and kidnapping.  After 18 days of deliberation, the jury told the judge they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.  The judge dismissed the case.  See article in New York Times:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/in-the-jury-room-18-days-of-debate-and-disagreement-end-in-a-frustrating-mistrial.html?_r=0

So, a man confesses (many times) to a murder and can’t be convicted—how can this happen?

Here are five reason why:

1.  The passage of so much time.  All evidence (except DNA) deteriorates over time.  This case was 35 years old—making it harder to prove.

2.  The prosecutors didn’t have any other evidence of Etan Patz’s killing: no DNA, fingerprints, or any physical evidence linking Hernandez to the killing.

3.  The defense lawyer told the jury the confessions weren’t reliable or, maybe even truthful.  Hernandez confessed so many times it showed that he was mentally ill and had a low IQ.

4.  In spite of the mental illness, the police questioned Hernandez for 7 hours until he confessed to them about the details of the killing of Etan Patz.

5.  The question for the jury wasn’t “what’s the truth?”  Instead, they had to decide if the prosecutor had provided them with enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hernandez was guilty of murdering Etan Patz.  All 12 jurors had to agree before there could be a conviction.  In this case, they were unable to reach that unanimous verdict.

But here’s my concern:  even though Pedro Hernandez walked away from the Etan Patz murder case, what if his confessions about “killing someone” that he made to family and church members are true?  Who and what is he talking about?  And if true, will he ever be brought to justice??