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A former SoHo store clerk was convicted Tuesday of murdering 6-year-old Etan Patz, resolving one of the city’s most notorious unsolved crimes after nearly 40 years. A Manhattan jury found Pedro Hernandez guilty of luring the child into the basement of a bodega as Etan walked alone to his school bus stop for the first time — and then strangling the boy on May 25, 1979.

A mistrial was declared Friday in the New York trial of the man charged with the 1979 killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz. The jury sent State Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley a note -- the third since April 29 -- saying it was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the guilt or innocence of bodega worker Pedro Hernandez. On two previous occasions, including Tuesday and Friday, the judge ordered the jury to keep deliberating. A new court date has been set for June 10. It's unclear whether Hernandez will be retried. The case involves a boy whose disappearance more...

The jury in the Etan Patz murder trial went through a seventh day of deliberations Thursday. Pedro Hernandez, 54, confessed to killing the 6-year-old boy in May 1979. He said he lured Patz into a bodega basement and strangled him. The defense, however, says Hernandez is mentally ill and made up the story. The jury asked for a computer with Excel Thursday to create a spreadsheet to organize its thoughts, WCBS 880’s Irene Cornell reported. The judge granted the request joked he’ll say no if they ask for a coffee maker. Jurors were dismissed for the day around 4:45 p.m.,...

I knew that I would start from the presumption of innocence. I knew that because we are told we should start from that presumption. There were certainly plenty of times I think we all had during the trial — moments, just “wow” moments. Like, “Oh, my God, that throws a lot of doubt in it!” Or, “Oh, my God, he did it!” For me, there were moments — different days, different periods of time — when I could have gone either way. That’s the whole point. Then you go into deliberations.

The disappearance of Etan Patz made national headlines, as police and his family called for answers. The boy's mother, Julie Patz, is seen here in 1981 during an appearance on NBC's Today show. A jury in New York City has found Pedro Hernandez guilty of murder in the kidnapping and death of Etan Patz, who was 6 years old when he went missing in 1979. The verdict follows a mistrial nearly two years ago, after a jury became deadlocked. Patz was never again seen by his family after he left home to walk to the school bus stop nearby. His...

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg intends to re-try Pedro Hernandez for the kidnapping and murder of Etan Patz, the boy whose face was the first on a milk carton after his disappearance in the 1970s. "This letter is to notify the Court that after thorough review, the District Attorney has determined that the available, admissible evidence supports prosecuting defendant on the charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Kidnapping in the First Degree in this matter, and the People are prepared to proceed," the district attorney's office said Tuesday. A federal appeals court ordered Hernandez released or re-tried after...

Drivers may not mind, but state transportation officials this spring said they had lost confidence that a new contractor would launch Highway 99 tunnel tolls on schedule, records show. State toll managers became wary enough that they’ll make a temporary deal with the existing statewide tolling contractor, to take over the tunnel-toll startup. That way, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) can begin charging drivers sometime this fall, as announced last month. Then next year, the current operator will hand off the tunnel toll operations to the new company, Dallas-based ETAN, state toll-project engineer Jennifer Charlebois said in an...

A US-BASED pressure group has warned Australia that its invited military intervention in East Timor to quell unrest did not entitle it to interfere in the country's government. The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network said it was concerned about the situation in East Timor, where the government, with the stated support of rebel leaders, requested the deployment of foreign forces to stem escalating violence. "Timor-Leste must find ways, with respectful support from the international community, to deal with problems in a manner that will not require troops," ETAN said. "Statements by Australian government leaders that providing security assistance entitles...