The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez in the 1979 disappearance and presumed murder of Etan Patz. Hernandez was found guilty in 2017, but his conviction was later overturned by an appeals court, which ruled he was entitled to a new trial. The Supreme Court's decision on Monday effectively nullifies that appeals court ruling, reinstating the original conviction. Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy, disappeared on May 25, 1979, while on his way to a school bus stop in New York City. He was declared dead in 2012, and his case became one of the first to gain national attention through the use of missing children's photos on milk cartons. The case remained a cold case for decades until Hernandez was arrested in 2012. Hernandez confessed to the crime shortly after his arrest, detailing how he had kidnapped and killed Etan. However, his defense team argued that his confession was coerced and that he suffered from mental health issues that rendered it unreliable. The appeals court agreed with these arguments, leading to the initial decision to grant him a new trial. The Supreme Court's intervention now sends the case back to lower courts, with the conviction standing unless further legal challenges are successful.