STORY: "No verdict yet in NYC murder case stemming from 1979 appearance," by reporter Natasja Sheriff, published by Reuters on April 16, 2015.
GIST: "The jury in the trial of a former New York deli worker
accused of kidnapping and murdering 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979
adjourned without a verdict on Thursday after a second day of
deliberations. In a case that first
raised national awareness of the issue of missing and abducted children,
Pedro Hernandez confessed to police in 2012 that he had choked the boy,
stuffed him in a box and left him in a lower Manhattan alley. The boy's picture was one of the first to appear on milk cartons in a national campaign to locate children who had disappeared. Defense
attorneys say Hernandez's confession was coerced, and that the
54-year-old man is mentally ill, intellectually disabled and suffers
hallucinations......... The
panel heard dozens of witnesses in testimony that began in late
January. No forensic evidence was presented, and Hernandez did not take
the witness stand. Patz has never been found. He was declared dead in 2001. ........The crime has long haunted New Yorkers who can recall the massive search for the small, blond boy. In
a confession videotaped by police and played in court, Hernandez
described luring Patz into the delicatessen where he worked, taking him
to the basement and strangling him.........Defense
attorneys put blame on Jose Ramos, who dated a Patz family babysitter
and was long considered the prime suspect. Ramos is serving a prison
term for sexually abusing boys."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/16/us-usa-crime-patz-idUSKBN0N72PS20150416
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I
have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible
years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr.
Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of
Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It
can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
