Judge declares mistrial in Etan Patz murder trial

NEW YORK, May 8 (UPI) -- A judge in New York declared a mistrial in the murder trial of a man who confessed to killing 6-year-old Etan Patz, one of the first missing children to appear on a milk carton in 1979.

After 18 weeks -- a total of 111 hours -- of deliberation, the jury sent a note to New York County Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley on Friday saying they were unable to reach a unanimous decision about the fate of 54-year-old Pedro Hernandez.

It was the third time the jury told Wiley about the impasse, though he had previously encouraged them to continue to deliberate to come to a decision.

"I think at this point I would have to call the deliberations at an end and dismiss them," Wiley said Friday.

Hernandez, a disabled factory worker from New Jersey -- whose lawyers argued had low intelligence and a history of mental illness -- confessed twice to police in 2012 that he kidnapped Etan as the boy walked to a school bus stop in Manhattan. He said he lured Etan into a bodega basement where he strangled him. The boy's body was never found.

Defense attorneys argued Hernandez confessed due to mental illness and pressure from police.

It's unclear if District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. will seek a second jury trial.