A former SoHo bodega worker now being questioned in connection with the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz told cops he lured the boy into his clutches with candy — then stabbed and strangled him to death, police sources said Thursday.
Pedro Hernandez claims he then stuffed the 6-year-old boy’s body in a bag, then placed that in a box and took it to a hiding place, the sources said.
Hernandez, 67, said when he returned two days later to collect the box — it was gone, the sources said.
If Hernandez’s horrifying admissions are proved true, they would solve a heartbreaking mystery that has bedeviled investigators — and tortured his parents — for 33 years.
Some sleuths buy Hernandez’s story, sources said. Others fear this could be yet another frustrating false lead, in part because Hernandez never explained why he killed the boy.
Word that Hernandez was being grilled came a day before the 33rd anniversary of Etan’s disappearance — a day detectives often get deluged with hoaxes related to the case.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who was returning to New York from London after a meeting on safeguarding the Summer Olympics, confirmed cops had a possible suspect.
“An individual now in custody has made statements to NYPD detectives implicating himself in the disappearance and death of Etan Patz 33 years ago,” Kelly said in a statement. “We expect to provide further details later today.”
Hernandez was picked up in Camden, N.J., on Wednesday, a source told the Daily News. He had been questioned when Etan first vanished and denied any involvement.
Investigators decided to look at Hernandez again after one of his relatives went to cops with suspicions about him in the Etan case.
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