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By Polly Mosendz
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On Friday afternoon, the judge overseeing the murder trial of Etan Patz, a young boy who disappeared in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City 36 years ago, called for a mistrial. A retrial has been set for June 10, though this date could change.
The mistrial decision came after the jury, for the third time, said they were unable to reach a verdict. They had been deliberating for 18 days. The trial itself lasted for 10 weeks.
The first time, the judge said there was no reason to believe another jury would be more successful in their deliberations than this one. "I am not asking any of you to violate your conscience or abandon your best judgment," the judge said when the jury came back a second time.
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The case remained cold for many years, until Pedro Hernandez confessed in 2012 to kidnapping and killing Patz. Hernandez's defense team argued that his confessions were false and blamed the incident on Jose Ramos, a convicted child predator who was never charged in Patz's death for lack of evidence.
The Hernandez family declined to comment to reporters on the scene when they left the courthouse on Friday afternoon. Hernandez remains indicted pending the retrial.
"I'm so convinced Pedro Hernandez kidnapped and killed my son," Stan Patz, Etan's father, told DNAInfo after the trial. "We are frustrated and very disappointed the jury has not been able to come to a decision. Pedro Hernandez is guilty of crimes to which he confessed beyond a reasonable doubt."
Patz's body was never recovered. Authorities searched a SoHo basement where they believed the boy may have been held as part of the Hernandez investigation.
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