NYT seems skeptical about Etan Patz' "killer" confession

[Marzupialis]

Good piece in the NYT on the confession of a man of having killed Etan Patz, the boy who disappeared without a trace many years ago. Important quote:

"In 1932, more than 200 people came forward to confess that they had kidnapped the baby son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, the aviators."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/nyregion/arrest-of-etan-patz-suspect-shows-haste-by-the-police.html

Let's not forget that two people were wrongfully accused of mailing the Anthrax letters. One committed "suicide" and the other received a huge settlement for being falsely accused.

I personally do not believe Pedro Hernandez killed Etan Patz. When police can't solve a murder, it feels embarassed and often sets out to find a patsy.

[DCKit]

1. I, too, find it incredibly convenient.

Were people so stupid in 1972 that they weren't checking every dumpster in the area for the body? I don't think so.

Additionally, people who would commit a crime like child rape and murder tend to escalate over time. The guy should have been busted before 1980 on another case. People with the capacity to commit this kind of crime aren't one-offs.

The NYPD may have found a convenient victim.

[Logical]

2. That is not really true......

Despite stereotypes to the contrary, the recidivism rate among sexual predators is among the lowest compared to other crimes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/etan-patz-mystery-99-percent-abductors-kill-victims/story?id=16431300#.T8DK9rBrN2B

[BeyondGeography]

3. They weren't looking for a patsy; it was based on a tip from a family member

And this guy had told several people over the last 30 years that he had committed the murder. What was the incentive for that or to confess?

Not saying it's a slam dunk. How can it be, without any supporting evidence and/or a body? But Etan wasn't there for the bus that morning and this is a plausible reason why.

Not crazy about the police work here. Hernandez was on the original list of people to be questioned, he quits his job shortly thereafter and moves to NJ, where I guess they lost track of him, to the extent that they were even thinking about him that much.

[obamanut2012]

4. I am, too