<div><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/22/multimedia/22met-etan-patz-02-gczv/22met-etan-patz-02-gczv-facebookJumbo.jpg" class="ff-og-image-inserted"></div><p id="article-summary" class="css-1r45aqf evqizr60">A Supreme Court decision has reinstated the conviction of a man in the kidnapping and killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz, affirming the state court conviction after a federal appeals court had suggested a new trial was required. The ruling concludes the federal review of the state case and returns the matter to lower courts, effectively ending the current appeal but leaving open the possibility of further challenges to the conviction.</p><p>The high court’s unsigned order reverses a lower court ruling that had reopened the case, preserving the 2017 verdict in which the defendant was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Patz. Some justices expressed disagreement with the majority’s reasoning regarding federal intervention in state-court matters.</p><p>The defendant’s attorney expressed disappointment, while the district attorney emphasized the case’s lasting impact on New York and its pursuit of justice for Patz and his family. The case has spanned decades, with the defendant previously convicted in 2017 after two trials and later challenged on questions related to confessions and evidentiary procedures.</p><p>The decision sends the case back to state courts, where the defendant remains in state custody at Elmira Correctional Facility, and it does not preclude further objections to the conviction.</p><p>The investigation into Patz’s disappearance in 1979, which drew nationwide attention and influenced parental safety norms, began with a confession obtained in 2012 but faced questions about voluntariness and reliability. The Supreme Court’s action clarifies limits on federal review of state-court convictions, ending the current federal challenge but leaving other state-level avenues open.</p>
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