Murderer Of Etan Patz, Pedro Hernandez, Wants Confession Thrown Out Due To Mental Illness

Last year, Pedro Hernandez gave a confession to police about the murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz from 1979. Now Hernandez's lawyer wants a New York City judge to throw the confession out on the grounds Hernandez is mentally ill.

Etan Patz went missing in 1979 and became one of the first children in America to have his face printed on milk cartons. On May 25, 1979 Etan Patz was allowed by his parents to walk by himself to the bus stop for the very first time. Patz's parents never saw their son again. May 25 is now National Missing Children's Day.

People who knew Hernandez turned him in after they say he bragged about killing a boy in New York City. Hernandez was questioned by police for 6-hours before making his confession. Hernandez's lawyer says that the confession should be thrown out because his client is bipolar, schizophrenic and suffers from hallucinations.

According to Hernandez's confession, he lured Etan Patz to the basement of the store where he was working. Once in the basement, Hernandez's confession says he strangled the boy, hid his body in a freezer and tossed the boy's school bag behind the freezer.

Various media outlets reported that the police conducting the initial investigation never found the backpack that Hernandez supposedly left behind the freezer after removing Etan Patz's body and placing it out with the trash. This lack of evidence could actually allow Hernandez to get his confession thrown out. 

According to the Associated Press "Under New York law, a person can be convicted based only on a confession, so long as there's additional evidence that a crime was committed."

Hernandez's lawyer says that the confession to Etan Patz murder is not reliable due to his client's diminished mental state. A judge is expected to make a decision in the case next month.