NYPD top cop Ray Kelly may be all wrong in the Etan Patz case -- Latest suspect Pedro Hernandez just one of three so far to be fingered
By: Niall O'Dowd | Published Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 12:00 PM | Updated Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 12:00 PM
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| NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly |
The Etan Patz murder 33 years ago was one of the most significant in America's crime history.
Nothing was ever the same again after the six-year-old left his parent's West Village apartment in New York to walk to school alone for the first time.
He never made it and his murder had never been solved.
Many crime experts date the explosion of fear in America over crime to that killing - the moment when we all felt less safe
Now it may become significant again for a very different reason.
Police Chief Ray Kelly has essentially accused a 51-year old, Pedro Hernandez, of carrying out the killing.
Except there is no evidence other than a confession by Hernandez whose family admits he has deep psychiatric problems.
There is no body, no witnesses, no physical evidence linking him to the crime.
If Hernandez withdraws his confession the police have no case.
Worse, a man called Jose Ramos, a convicted pedophile, was ruled to have committed the crime in a civil case by a Manhattan judge in 2004.
"Investigators both from federal prosecutors' office and the FBI over an extended period of time built up a tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence," Murray Weiss, a police reporter who covered the Patz case told CBS.
The lawyer for the Patzs , Brian O'Dwyer, said at the time that winning the lawsuit made it clear. "The point is to establish once and for all that Ramos is responsible for Etan's death."
So who is it, Hernandez or Ramos?
Or maybe it is someone else altogether; just a few weeks back cops tore apart a basement seeking to link a third man, Othniel Miller, to the killing.
They found nothing but Miller’s estranged wife claimed he confessed to the crime.
So that's three suspects right there.
When the Lindbergh child killing happened in 1932, over thirty delusional people admitted to the crime.
The Etan Patz case is getting just as crazy.
Ray Kelly may well have made a massive mistake here. First the press conference essentially announcing guilt, then the arrest, then the trial, then the verdict..
It is all backwards, like this tragic case has long been.
I believe it is a case almost impossible to solve bar some incredible evidence find.
"It's going to be very difficult to convince a jury," Larry Kobilinsky, a doctor of forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CBS .
"Normally we collect the physical evidence and talk to the witnesses; then we catch a suspect, interrogate him and then sometimes they confess," said Kobilinsky. "This is just the reverse."
He has it right.
9 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Bythebay | May 29, 2012, 03:25 PM EDT
In the US Justice System all are innocent until proven guilty. No police chief, Ray Kelly, or anyone else is expected to be judge and jury. This criticism is more probably related to Kelly's possible candidacy for NYC Mayor.
irishpjk | May 28, 2012, 10:54 PM EDT
I don’t see where Ray Kelly could be wrong; NYPD was given information that led to a suspect being questioned. Said suspect confessed to murdering the victim and was arrested. Now he is being evaluated by medical experts, his story is being investigated by NYC PD. That was the information made public by Ray Kelly, if the suspect was sent home and disappeared or committed suicide, or if it was found out that Kelly hid the news from the media what would your headline be?
SheilaSB | May 28, 2012, 10:48 PM EDT
First of all, why are the words "murder" and "death" being used in this article when there is no proof that a murder occurred or that Etan Patz is dead? Perhaps the child was taken by someone who just wanted a child. The correct term for Etan Patz is "missing." Apparently people are "assuming" he is dead when there is no real evidence of that.
MJLawe | May 28, 2012, 05:30 PM EDT
He is very ill. Schizophrenia makes some people imagine events that never happened. They will cling to that years later and still believe it's real. NYPD needs real evidence that he is the killer, not the reports of what he said to others, because that is meaningless. Keep in mind, the man who may be the real killer is being released from prison in November. Do we really want to close this case by convicting the wrong man, while the real killer is about to hit the streets again?
LacarourSeanB | May 28, 2012, 02:30 PM EDT
This is now looking a lot more complicated than a prima facie perusal would indicate. All that does is exacerbate the tragedy. Yet each angle needs to be pursued and then (hopefully) be set in it's appropriate perspective. I hope and we all should Pray that both Truth as well as closure can finally be harvested from these doings, difficult and sad though they may be.
crny925 | May 28, 2012, 01:05 PM EDT
Why does he have it all wrong? Hernandez knows key facts that were never disclosed to the public. Hernandez confessed to his family and to his church group years ago; shame on them for not coming to authorities! O'Dowd you're always attacking anything or anyone that does not suit your LIBERAL agenda! Shame on you! This family just might have the justice they deserve and those two other men that have been accused may just be proven innocent!
PhlutiePhan | May 28, 2012, 11:29 AM EDT
You "may" have it all wrong. David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) did not act alone. He was part of a devil cult with a number of members. He even contacted Malachi Martin because he was a well known exorcist. He has stated that if he would come forward many people would die. This kidnapping appears to fit that profile. Like the animals that they are, these individuals kidnap and pass their prey around. That is why a number of people know all about many aspects of the case. There are also usually individuals higher up in the legal chain who are also involved and do not want there participation to hit the light of day. Fells acre in Mass and McMartin in Calif would appear to fit the same profile. This is evil personified.
Murph46 | May 28, 2012, 10:32 AM EDT
New info today state that detainee Hernandez confessed to a church group in the 1980's.
normacathy | May 28, 2012, 10:15 AM EDT
It's just so upsetting..is Pedro Hernandez the perp is is he not?If not then who?I kinda feel this situation took place 'cause Western culture has tended to deny the existence of pedophiles & criminally insane in our society..I've been wondering-why did Pedro Hernandez suddenly move to New York 33 yrs ago?Did something happen in NJ? I would hope that law enforcement is checking to see if some NJ child disappeared or was hurt by party unknown so long ago 33 yrs.