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 Immediately after state Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley's
mistrial ruling, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon
requested a second trial for Hernandez.
The decision came after the jury, in its 18th day of deliberations
at the court in Manhattan, told the judge for a third time that it
was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. On two previous occasions
during the 10-week trial, Wiley ordered the panel to resume
deliberations.
Eleven jury members were in favor of conviction, jurors said at a
media briefing. Only one held out for acquittal.
Patz vanished on May 25, 1979 as he walked alone for the first time
to a school bus stop in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan.
Hernandez, a former deli worker now 54 years old, confessed to
police in 2012 that he choked the 6-year-old Patz, stuffed him in a
box and left him in a New York alley.
"We are frustrated and very disappointed that the jury has even
unable to reach a decision," said Stan Patz, the boy's father. "Our
long ordeal is not over."
 After hearing trial testimony, "we have come to the conclusion that
Pedro Hernandez is guilty of crimes to which he confessed, beyond
any reasonable doubt," Patz said after the jury was dismissed.
In a statement echoing the father's view of the case, Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus Vance said, "there is clear and corroborated
evidence of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
In the U.S. justice system, a defendant is presumed innocent of a
crime, and the jury must determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defense attorney Harvey Fishbein said, "I'm sure the Patz family is
very interested in a resolution in this case. We firmly believe
Pedro Hernandez is not the right man."
Lawyers for both sides will meet in court on June 10 to discuss what
happens next and confirm the decision to move ahead with a retrial.
The defense had tried to put blame on Jose Ramos, who dated a Patz
family babysitter and was long considered the prime suspect. Ramos
is serving a prison term after being convicted of sexually abusing
boys.
A judge found Ramos legally responsible for the death of Patz in a
2004 civil lawsuit brought by the Patz family.
Patz's disappearance brought attention to the issue of missing and
abducted children, and his picture was one of the first to appear on
milk cartons in the United States.
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"He represents a moment in this city and this country where there
was a loss of innocence, trust, a way of life," prosecutor
Illuzzi-Orbon said in her summation to the jury. "Etan, by his
death, saved many, many children from a similar fate."
Hernandez's defense attorneys had argued that Hernandez is mentally
ill and his confession was coerced by police.
Hernandez did not take the witness stand during the trial.
The crime long haunted New Yorkers who can recall the massive search
for the missing blond boy, who was never found. He was declared dead
in 2001.
His mother, Julie Patz, told the jury that her young son had been
outgoing and trusting.
"Everyone he met was a friend and a nice person," she said.
Hernandez was arrested in 2012 on a tip that he had confessed to a
church prayer group in New Jersey.
In a confession videotaped by police, he described luring Patz into
the deli where he worked, taking him to the basement and strangling
him.
"I wanted to let go, I just couldn't let go. I felt like something
just took over me, and I was choking him," Hernandez said on the
videotape.
The boy went limp, but was still alive when he disposed of the body,
Hernandez said.
"He was still gasping," the man said.
Three members of the church prayer group testified against
Hernandez, recounting his tearful confession at the end of a daylong
summer religious retreat in 1979.
(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney)
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