Jury In Etan Patz Murder Asks For Computer With Excel To Organize Thoughts
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The jury in the Etan Patz murder trial went through a seventh day of deliberations Thursday.
Pedro Hernandez, 54, confessed to killing the 6-year-old boy in May 1979. He said he lured Patz into a bodega basement and strangled him.
The defense, however, says Hernandez is mentally ill and made up the story.
The jury asked for a computer with Excel Thursday to create a spreadsheet to organize its thoughts, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
The judge granted the request joked he'll say no if they ask for a coffee maker.
Jurors were dismissed for the day around 4:45 p.m., CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported. No verdict has been reached.
On Wednesday, the jury asked for clarification on the law surrounding confessions.
Jurors also asked for a list of witnesses, exhibits and agreements that both sides made on matters of evidence, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported.
The jury may have signaled it's considering evidence having to do with convicted pedophile Jose Ramos, the man the defense cast as a more likely predator than the defendant, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
The defense has pointed repeatedly to Ramos as the real suspect. Ramos denied involvement. However, a former federal prosecutor and FBI agent testified that Ramos told investigators he was "90 percent" sure a boy he took from a park was Etan, and Hernandez's former prison cellmate testified that Ramos admitted molesting the boy.
Prosecutors argued that while Ramos may be a convicted pedophile, investigators never found enough evidence to ever charge him in Etan's disappearance.
Jurors are deciding whether Hernandez is guilty or not on three separate charges: second-degree murder, felony murder and kidnapping.
The two different murder charges result from different theories under the law. If the jury finds that Hernandez deliberately killed Etan, they will convict him on second-degree murder charges.
If the panel decides Etan's death resulted from actions during the course of a kidnapping, they will find him guilty on the felony murder charge.
Each of the three charges is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
Etan's photo was one of the first to be featured on milk cartons and the day he went missing became National Missing Children's Day.