Man to be sentenced in 1979 Etan Patz missing-child case
NEW YORK (AP) - The man convicted of killing 6-year-old Etan Patz (AY'-tahn PAYTS') is set to learn his punishment in one of America's most notorious missing-child cases.
Pedro Hernandez's sentencing is set for Tuesday afternoon.
Etan disappeared in 1979 as he walked to his school bus stop in downtown Manhattan. He was among the first missing children pictured on milk cartons, and the anniversary of his May 25 disappearance became National Missing Children's Day.
FILE- In this Nov. 15, 2012, file photo, Pedro Hernandez appears in Manhattan criminal court in New York. Hernandez, convicted of killing 6-year-old Etan Patz who disappeared in 1979, is set to learn his punishment on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in one of America's most notorious missing-child cases. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, Pool, File)
No trace of him has ever been found.
Hernandez worked at a convenience shop by the bus stop. Now 56, he wasn't a suspect until police got a tip in 2012.
The Maple Shade, New Jersey, man then confessed. His lawyers say he's mentally ill and his admissions were false. The attorneys have vowed to appeal.