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Sunday, May 27, 2012 8:15 PM UTC

Long road for NYC prosecutors in Etan Patz case

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Topics: From the Wires,

NEW YORK (AP) — Legal experts say prosecutors must meticulously piece together a case against a man who police say confessed to killing 6-year-old Etan Patz (AY’-tahn payts) in 1979 in New York City.

Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, N.J., was charged with murder based largely on a signed confession he gave after he voluntarily spoke to detectives for hours, according to police. Legal experts say it’s going to take more than a confession to convict Hernandez — but not much more.

Corroborating evidence could be something as small as the fact that Hernandez worked at the corner store near where the boy went missing. Legal experts say reports that Hernandez told family and friends that he had “done a bad thing” and killed a child in New York may also help.

No body has been recovered, and there is little physical evidence in the case.

More Colleen Long.

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