NYC judge declares mistrial in 1979 Etan Patz murder case

By Natasja Sheriff NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the marathon trial of Pedro Hernandez, who had confessed to killing Etan Patz, the New York City boy whose 1979 disappearance raised awareness of the plight of missing and abducted children and their families. 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. "We are frustrated and very disappointed that the jury has even unable to reach a decision," said Stan Patz, the boy's father.

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