The conviction of Pedro Hernandez, the SoHo bodega clerk found guilty in the 1979 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz, was overturned by a federal appeals court Monday — reopening the book ...

The 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz helped catalyze a national missing-children’s movement.

“We conclude that the state trial court contradicted clearly established federal law and that this error was not harmless,” a three-judge appeals panel held in a ruling on Monday.