Confessed killer of New York boy charged with murder

The confessed killer of six-year-old Etan Patz, whose disappearance exactly 33 years ago sparked New York's biggest modern crime mystery, was charged Friday with murder -- but his lawyer questioned whether he is mentally capable to face prosecution. Pedro Hernandez, 51, was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court by videolink from Bellevue Hospital. He wore an orange jail jumpsuit and appeared dazed, but had no discernible expression on his face during the five-minute proceeding. A complaint charging him with one count of second degree murder stated that Hernandez confessed that he had "strangled Etan Patz and placed him inside a plastic bag, thereby causing the death of Etan Patz." However, Judge Matthew Sciarrino agreed to a defense request to submit Hernandez for psychiatric evaluation and determine whether he is mentally competent. According to defense attorney Harvey Fishbein, Hernandez has had "diagnoses of schizophrenia and bipolar disease. He's under medication and in fact was admitted to hospital because of the medication." The man who says he committed one of New York's most notorious crimes has "a history of hallucinations, both visual and auditory." Hernandez's confession, first announced Thursday, was a stunning breakthrough in an unsolved case that has haunted New Yorkers for three decades. Patz's disappearance on his way to catch the school bus in Manhattan's SoHo district on May 25, 1979 brought an end to what was then the widespread custom of letting small children out of the house alone. Patz was also the first missing child to have his picture plastered on milk cartons, appealing for information, and May 25 was named National Missing Children's Day. Although police say he has made a lengthy confession to the crime, Hernandez has not yet entered a plea. Officials have not said what evidence they have against him, beyond his confession. "This is the beginning of the legal process, not the end," District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "There is much investigative and other work ahead, and it will be conducted in a measured and careful manner." The next court appearance was set for June 25. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced Thursday that Hernandez had confessed to strangling Patz after luring him "with the promise of a soda" to the basement of a grocery store where he worked, close to the school bus stop. Hernandez said he then killed Patz, who had big eyes, a slightly gap-toothed smile and light hair. "He then led him into the basement of the bodega, choked him there and disposed of the body by placing him in a plastic bag and placing it in the trash," Kelly said. The boy's remains are almost certain never to be recovered, Kelly said. Hernandez worked in the same neighborhood where Patz lived and disappeared, but he was never a suspect in a mammoth investigation. Kelly said a tip broke open the case. Hernandez had been living quietly in New Jersey with his wife and teenage daughter and he had no criminal record. But following the media frenzy over last month's search of the basement, a tipster came forward, Kelly said, and told police that Hernandez had talked about killing a child. "The individual came forward because of the recent notoriety of the case," Kelly said. He had "told family and others that he had 'done a bad thing and killed a child in New York'," Kelly said. Detectives who interviewed Hernandez thought "he was remorseful." The confessed murderer appeared "to think it was a feeling of relief," Kelly said. However, no motive has been established, Kelly said.