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Posted

The conviction was overturned today for the 1979 disappearance/murder of Etan Patz. Major news story at the time.

For those too young, this is the disappearance of a 6-year old that was one of the reasons for missing kids on milk cartoons, stranger danger, and why parents became more protective of kids leaving the house. GenX kids love to talk about how their parents let them roam free, but his disappearance (& others) scared enough parents to slowly change that stance.

Background

  • 6 year old NYC boy walking 2 blocks to the school bus. He was alone on this walk for the first time.
  • He didn't make it to the bus stop.
  • No body was ever found.
  • In the mid-80s, a child molester was the main suspect with limited evidence. There was a reported jail house confession to another inmate.
    • The suspect admitted to raping other young boys but couldn't recall if Patz was one of his victims. He was clear that he left his victim alive. Disgusting.
    • A civil judgement was won by the parents against the suspect.
  • In 2012, a low-IQ, former convenience store clerk confessed to the murder before he was mirandized. He claimed to toss the body in the trash the day of the disappearance.
  • First trial was a hung jury, second trial led to a guilt verdict with a 25 year sentence.
  • Verdict was overturned today due to jury instruction errors by the judge: https://archive.ph/NLxkg

In today's world it would be unheard of to let a 6 year walk to a bus stop but the 70s were a different time. It wasn't NYC but I walked to the bus stop on my own at that age. It was very common. I have a definite memory of the Patz TV news stories. He would be 52 years old now.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted
4 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

In today's world it would be unheard of to let a 6 year walk to a bus stop but the 70s were a different time. It wasn't NYC but I walked to the bus stop on my own at that age. It was very common. I have a definite memory of the Patz TV news stories. He would be 52 years old now.

We either walked or rode our bikes at that age and school was just about a mile away. 

  • Hook 'Em 5
Posted
1 hour ago, South Austin said:

If you want nightmare fuel, look up the Texas Monthly story on The Heights abductions in the 70s. 

I was a youngster in Htown back when this was going down. My mother and my buddy's mother were worried, but we were pretty big and strong at that time and we convinced them we'd kick his ass if he (The Boogey Man) tried to mess with us.

Posted
2 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

The Atlanta child murders were the first time I remember parents in my hick town getting a little worried. 

I Remember those, but the Adam Walsh thing got a lot of parents who thought nothing of dropping their kid off at the mall.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
4 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

We either walked or rode our bikes at that age and school was just about a mile away. 

At 6? Different times indeed.

Posted
If you want nightmare fuel, look up the Texas Monthly story on The Heights abductions in the 70s. 

Was that the Candy Man or something like that?
Posted
9 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

At 6? Different times indeed.

 

When I was in kindergarten (1976), we only lived about two blocks from the school. My folks let me wander over alone, no problem. We moved to another town when I was in the first grade (1977), and I rode my bike alone about a mile to elementary school.

Posted (edited)

Yep.  2 blocks to kindergarten school.

The next year, we moved to a farm in  Texas and the bus stop was 1/4 mile dirt road from the house to the blacktop away.  I'd walk that bitch every school day and be waiting at the bus stop. Now I laugh when I see soccer mom drive their kids to the end of the city street because it's raining.   The first couple of years, I suspect any farmer who came along and offered me a ride would have easily gotten me in their vehicle.

Thankfully I wasn't big enough to milk cows or drive a tractor yet, so the risk was low.

Edited by Iceman
Posted
11 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Adam Walsh.

I remember that case too because that is my name and I was glad that I did not end up in the creek with my head missing.   I wonder why that dude did that to Adam Walsh.   I think the killer was just some drifter?

Posted
6 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

At 6? Different times indeed.

Yes, at six. Not like our parents were going to take us, gas was expensive to them. It was nothing but neighborhood streets to the school and everyone knew each other so they weren’t worried and we were too dumb to be worried. 

Posted
8 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

I Remember those, but the Adam Walsh thing got a lot of parents who thought nothing of dropping their kid off at the mall.

If I remember the story correctly, his mom didn’t drop him off at the mall. They were together in a JC Penny or Sears, and the mom left him in the toy section while she went to a different part of the store.

Posted
14 hours ago, South Austin said:

Even after the TV movie about Adam Walsh, my parents still gave me free roam in shopping malls. Now that I think about it, maybe they were trying to get rid of me.

Maybe mom was "busy"......

  • Haha 1
Posted

I grew up in a neighborhood in a rural setting just outside of town.  There were about 6 of us boys in the neighborhood that were all within 3 to 4 years of age range.  We were surrounded by woods and fairly close to I-20.  We would constantly ride our bikes up to the truck stop to look at the semi-trucks and climb all over the new trucks at the KW and Peterbilt dealerships.  No one seemed to care.  The people at the two truck dealerships would even give us models and brochures of the trucks.

The farthest point that we rode our bikes in a single direction was just over 10 miles.  No one knew that we did that until we went pedaling up to my aunt and uncle's house on the other side of town because we were thirsty.  In my 12 year old mind those were much simpler times.

Posted

For whatever reason, the Etan case sticks with me much more than any memory of Adam Walsh. I'm definitely aware of Adam Walsh especially in that his father became a victim advocate and the pursuit of wanted people. Amercia's Most Wanted with John Walsh. Perhaps the Etan case was more on the national news due to it occurring in NYC where is where all of the national news was produced. and in 1979, I was in a household that couldn't even get cable TV yet so you watched whatever was on the 3 networks channels including news. By the Adam Walsh case, we had cable with HBO, WGN (Cubs), WTBS (Braves), etc.

Posted

Grew up on the east side of I35 behind the Fiesta Texas, near Maplewood elementary.  We'd ride down to campus all the time.  Or down to the shopping center off airport.  Patterson Park was a given, as was Mueller or going over to Hancock or Bergstrom.  No telling how many miles we'd cover in a day, living off procured hose water and a bag of skittles.  

Posted
5 hours ago, South Austin said:

Yep. 

I was born in Houston in the early 70's before my old man picked up the family and moved us to San Antonio in 1979. I read that story a few years ago when it was linked somewhere on this site. It was terrifying and I asked my parents if they remember that being a thing when we were there. He said they were aware of it but didn't pay it much mind. We moved between kindergarten and first grade so I guess I wasn't quite in the Candy Man's target demo yet but still creepy as shit.

Posted (edited)
54 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I was born in Houston in the early 70's before my old man picked up the family and moved us to San Antonio in 1979. I read that story a few years ago when it was linked somewhere on this site. It was terrifying and I asked my parents if they remember that being a thing when we were there. He said they were aware of it but didn't pay it much mind. We moved between kindergarten and first grade so I guess I wasn't quite in the Candy Man's target demo yet but still creepy as shit.

dean corll (the candy man) is the subject of episodes 210-212 of last podcast on the left. 

 

worst serial killer in american history (to that point) was operating in houston and the police just didn't give a shit because the heights was a shitty neighborhood and the cops really didn't investigate crimes against gay men and teens. "he probably just ran away"

Edited by elfenix
Posted
1 hour ago, C-Man said:

I was born in Houston in the early 70's before my old man picked up the family and moved us to San Antonio in 1979. I read that story a few years ago when it was linked somewhere on this site. It was terrifying and I asked my parents if they remember that being a thing when we were there. He said they were aware of it but didn't pay it much mind. We moved between kindergarten and first grade so I guess I wasn't quite in the Candy Man's target demo yet but still creepy as shit.

Your parents wouldn’t have paid it any mind. No one knew the murders were going on until after the murderer’s accomplice killed him. He was dead by the time people found out what he was doing, so it couldn’t have been a scary time to live through. Total fuck up by HPD. 

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