Suspect in case of missing NYC boy due in court

NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with killing a 6-year-old New York boy in 1979 is expected to plead not guilty to murder despite police saying he confessed to the crime.

Pedro Hernandez, 51, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. His attorney has previously said he would plead not guilty to killing Etan Patz (PAYTS’).

Etan disappeared on May 25, 1979 as he walked to the bus stop on his way to school. His case touched off a massive search that has ebbed and flowed for three decades until this year, when the surprise arrest was made.

Hernandez’s lawyer Harvey Fishbein says his defense will revolve around Hernandez’s mental state, but he isn’t pursuing an insanity defense. Fishbein says Hernandez will argue he made a false confession because of his mental problems, among other factors.