A federal appeals court on Monday overturned the conviction of a former Manhattan bodega clerk found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Ethan Patz, a 6-year-old boy whose 1979 disappearance stoked national fears about missing and abducted children.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals based its decision on a flawed jury instruction given by a New York State judge about Hernandez's purported confessions.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s ruling in the Hernandez case focuses on a jury note issued during Hernandez’s second trial for the kidnapping and murder of Etan Patz asking if jurors must disregard statements Hernandez made to investigators following a confession he provided before being given a Miranda warning.