
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The prosecution and defense Friday were preparing jurors for a new video, which could amount to a bombshell in the trial of the man who confessed to killing Etan Patz.
As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported, interrogation videos have already been shown in the trial of Pedro Hernandez, who is charged with killing Etan, 6, in 1979.
READ MORE: Woman, 52, Shot To Death On City IslandLast week, jurors saw three hours of police questioning Hernandez, including a moment where he confessed.
“I grabbed him by the neck and I started to choke him. I was nervous. My legs were jumpy,” Hernandez said in the video. “I wanted to let go but I just couldn’t let go. I felt like something just took over me.”
On Friday, police officers testified for the prosecution about the other interrogations that took place off camera. The testimony was leading up to the release next week of a police video that the defense said shows Hernandez at times getting chummy with detectives.
“He’s a client who has issues,” said defense attorney Harvey Fishbein.
Fishbein said Hernandez’s confession is all a big lie. He said the previously unseen video runs half an hour long, and will show the manipulation of a client he said has a low IQ and is easily swayed.
Fishbein said the video shows “the police officers having (Hernandez) in the corner, right up against him — rubbing his head, rubbing his shoulders — one saying, ‘You have the strength of the Lord, Pedro, thank you, thank you.’”
Prosecutors told CBS2 they will not comment until after the trial is over.
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