NEW YORK – The Latest on the sentencing of a man convicted of killing 6-year-old Etan Patz, who disappeared while walking to a New York bus stop in 1979 (all times local):
3:40 p.m.
A judge who presided over two trials in the case of long-missing 6-year-old New York boy Etan Patz (AY'-tahn payts) says a former stock clerk convicted of killing him "kept a terrible secret for 33 years."
Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley sentenced Maple Shade, New Jersey, resident Pedro Hernandez on Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison.
Hernandez was convicted in February at a retrial. Jurors had deadlocked in his first trial.
The judge says he found prosecutors' case against Hernandez compelling.
Hernandez was a teenager working at a convenience shop in Etan's neighborhood when the boy vanished while walking to his school bus stop in 1979.
Now 56, Hernandez wasn't a suspect until police got a tip in 2012. Hernandez then confessed. His lawyers say he's mentally ill and his admissions were false.
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3:20 p.m.
A former store clerk convicted of killing 6-year-old New York boy Etan Patz (AY'-tahn payts) in 1979 has been sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.
Maple Shade, New Jersey, resident Pedro Hernandez's sentencing Tuesday was the culmination of a long quest to hold someone criminally accountable in one of America's most influential missing-child cases.
Etan's disappearance affected police practices, parenting and the nation's consciousness of missing children. Etan was among the first missing children pictured on milk cartons.
Hernandez was a teenager working at a convenience shop in Etan's neighborhood when the boy vanished while walking to his school bus stop.
Now 56, Hernandez wasn't a suspect until police got a tip in 2012. Hernandez then confessed.
His lawyers say he's mentally ill and his admissions were false.
Etan's parents say they'll "never forgive" him.
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12:40 a.m.
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.
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.
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