Lawyer Says Accused Etan Patz Killer is Bipolar

A lawyer for a New Jersey man accused of strangling 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City in 1979 says his client is mentally ill and has a history of hallucinations.

Pedro Hernandez was arraigned on a murder charge Friday, the 33rd anniversary of the boy's disappearance. He has been held without bail.

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The 51-year-old Hernandez appeared in court via video camera from a conference room at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted after making comments about wanting to kill himself.

Court-appointed lawyer Harvey Fishbein told the judge Hernandez is bipolar and schizophrenic.

He didn't enter a plea. A judge ordered a psychological examination.

Hernandez was arrested Thursday after telling police he strangled Etan in 1979, when he was an 18-year-old stock boy at a convenience store where the boy waited for his school bus.

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