Despite Heavy Snow, Jury Deliberations Continue On Etan Patz Case

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New York City snowstorm did not stop the jury from deliberating in the re-trial of one of the nation's most haunting missing children's cases.

The city was expecting between 10 and 14 inches of snow Thursday and officials were urging people to stay home. Public schools were closed but courts were open.

Jurors in the case against Pedro Hernandez have been deliberating since Wednesday. Hernandez was charged with killing 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979. The little boy went missing on his way to the school bus stop and has never been seen again. Hernandez confessed but his attorney argued he's mentally ill.

A relative of Hernandez called police after the case made news in 2012 when federal agents dug up a basement looking for evidence.

Police arrested him, and he authorities said he confessed to choking the boy. His attorney, Harvey Fishbein, says Hernandez is mentally ill and falsely confessed.

Fishbein has sought to deflect attention away from his client, playing up the investigation into Jose Ramos, a convicted pedophile who said he knew Etan.

Ramos' girlfriend used to take care of the boy. Ramos himself is now incarcerated in an unrelated case.

His first trial ended with a hung jury after 18 days of deliberations.

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