FILE - This undated file image provided by the New York Police Department shows a flyer distributed by the NYPD of Etan Patz, who vanished in New York on May 25, 1979. Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, N.J., charged with murder decades after Patz's disappearance, is due to learn Wednesday, May 15, 2013, whether a New York City judge believes there's enough evidence to bring the case to trial. (AP Photo/Courtesy New York Police Department) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, FOR USE ONLY IN ILLUSTRATING EDITORIAL STORIES REGARDING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ETAN PATZ OR OTHER MISSING CHILDREN (The Associated Press)
NEW YORK – A man charged with murder decades after an infamous 1979 child disappearance is due to learn whether a New York City judge believes there's enough evidence to bring the case to trial.
Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, N.J., is awaiting a ruling due Wednesday in the case surrounding 6-year-old Etan Patz (AY'-tahn PAYTS'). Etan was last seen walking to his school bus stop in Manhattan.
Etan became one of the first vanished children to be pictured on a milk carton.
Hernandez's lawyer has asked a judge to dismiss the case. The lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, says Hernandez is mentally ill and his confession to investigators was false.
The Manhattan district attorney's office says there's enough evidence to sustain the charges. Prosecutors say they don't believe Hernandez's confession is the product of mentally illness.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
