AP source: Man says he suffocated Etan Patz in '79 - Atlanta Journal Constitution

By TOM HAYS

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — A law enforcement official says a man says he suffocated 6-year-old Etan Patz (AY'-tahn payts) in 1979 and left the boy's body in a box in a Manhattan alley.

A house, left, at 116 E. Linwood Ave., is seen in Maple Shade, N.J., Thursday, May 24, 2012. A woman who would not identify herself, answered the door at Apt. B, door left, back of house, and said that it is the home of Pedro Hernandez, who is in custody in the disappearance of Etan Patz in 1979. Hernandez has implicated himself in the death of Patz, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

A second official says Pedro Hernandez was picked up late Wednesday in Camden, N.J., and is now being questioned by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, which is heading the probe by the FBI and police.

No body has been recovered. Hernandez worked at a neighborhood grocery when the boy disappeared, and later moved to New Jersey.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the ongoing probe into the boy's disappearance in 1979.

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May 24, 2012 01:56 PM EDT

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