A hung jury led a New York judge to declare a mistrial in the case of Etan Patz, a six-year-old who went missing while walking to a SoHo bus stop 33 years ago. The jury of seven men and five women could not reach a verdict after three weeks of deliberation. Pedro Hernandez had confessed to kidnapping Patz, but defense argued it was fabricated under police pressure. The 1979 event became a pivotal moment for child abduction cases as it led to major reforms in law-enforcement and the way they handle missing person investigations.
