The Supreme Court restored the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez in the killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
Hernandez told law enforcement he strangled the boy in 1979, though his lawyers said the confession was false.
A lower court had ordered a new trial, but prosecutors warned retrial would pose daunting difficulties.
AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.
The Supreme Court on Monday sided with New York prosecutors and declined to invalidate the conviction of a man who confessed to killing 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979, reversing a lower court decision that likely would have required a new trial.
