The Supreme Court this Monday reinstated the murder conviction against Pedro Hernández, the man found guilty of the disappearance and murder of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy whose case shocked the country and transformed the way in which child disappearances were addressed.

In a 6-3 decision, the high court overturned an earlier federal appeals court ruling that had overturned Hernandez's conviction over questions about jury instructions during his second trial.

The resolution represents a victory for the Manhattan Prosecutor's Office, which had requested the intervention of the Supreme Court to preserve the sentence imposed in 2017. Hernández is currently serving a sentence of between 25 years and life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of the minor.

Etan Patz disappeared on May 25, 1979 while walking alone to the school bus stop in the New York neighborhood of SoHo. His disappearance captured national attention and made his face one of the first to appear on milk containers distributed throughout the United States, an initiative that marked a new stage in the search for missing minors.

A court battle that lasted more than a decade

Pedro Hernández, born in Puerto Rico and living in New Jersey at the time of his arrest, was not identified as a suspect until 2012, more than three decades after the boy's disappearance. Authorities focused the case on a confession made by Hernández during a police interrogation. However, the validity of that confession was the subject of intense legal disputes.

The defense argued that Hernández has a low IQ and a history of mental illnesses that affect his perception of reality. His lawyers argued that the confession was unreliable because the defendant was confused and believed that admitting responsibility would allow him to finish the interrogation and return home.

They also alleged that Hernandez remained in custody for several hours before being warned of his constitutional rights, known as Miranda rights, and that the recorded confession occurred after that lengthy interrogation period.

A first trial held in 2015 ended without a verdict because the jury could not reach a consensus. Two years later, a second jury found him guilty. At the time of the minor's disappearance in May 1979, Hernández was 18 years old and worked in a warehouse near the school bus stop in the SoHo neighborhood. According to authorities, the suspect lured the child to the basement of the business with the promise of a soft drink and then suffocated him.

Supreme Court upholds original verdict

The controversy reached a federal appeals court, which in 2025 overturned the conviction, considering an answer provided by the judge to a question asked by jurors during deliberations insufficient. However, the majority of the Supreme Court justices concluded that the appeals court exceeded its powers by intervening in a decision made by state courts.

The ruling relied on a 1996 federal law that limits review of state convictions by federal courts. After learning of the decision, Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg stated that the Etan Patz case “changed an entire generation of New Yorkers” and reiterated his office's commitment to seeking justice for the minor's family.

For their part, Hernández's lawyers expressed their deep disappointment with the ruling and assured that they will continue to defend their client's innocence.

Although Etan Patz's body was never found, his case remains one of the most emblematic in the criminal history of the United States and a symbol of the fight to protect missing children.