The New Jersey man charged with murdering Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who went missing from a Manhattan street in 1979, is finally headed to trial — three years after he was arrested in the notorious case.
The trial for Pedro Hernandez, 53, who allegedly confessed to cop that he choked Etan Patz to death 35 years ago by luring him to a bodega basement with a soda, is set to begin in Jan. 5, 2015, attorneys decided Wednesday. The trial is expected to last at least two months.
Pre-trial hearings will start on Sept. 18, where defense attorneys said they will challenge whether Hernandez’s confession — linchpin evidence for prosecutors — is admissible because they claim he’s mentally ill and falsely confessed.
“There are constitutional issues that need to be addressed with the taking of that statement,” said Harvey Fishbein.
During pre-trial hearings, defense counsel will also question the whereabouts of about 7-1/2 hours of recordered video tape of Hernandez.
The trial dates were set following a 15-minute off-the-record conversation between lawyers and Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley.
Hernandez, of Maple Shade, N.J., was 18 years old and worked at the bodega in lower Manhattan when the Etan disappeared. The boy’s body was never found.
The disturbed man was arrested in May 2012 on a family member’s “tip” that he’d admitted committing a crime against a child.
Convicted Pennsylvania pedophile Jose Ramos, who was found responsible for the boy’s death in a 2004 civil case, will testify at the trial as a material witness.