A man has been charged with the second degree murder of a school boy in New York 33 years ago.
US police said 51-year-old Pedro Hernandez had confessed to strangling Etan Patz, who disappeared while walking to a school bus stop near his home in SoHo in Manhattan on 25 May 1979.
The boy's disappearance changed the way police and the public responded to reports of missing children in the US.
Mr Hernandez's lawyer has questioned whether he is mentally capable to face prosecution.
A complaint charging him with one count of second degree murder stated that Mr Hernandez confessed that he had "strangled Etan Patz and placed him inside a plastic bag, thereby causing the death of Etan Patz."
However, Judge Matthew Sciarrino agreed to a defence request to submit Mr Hernandez for psychiatric evaluation and determine whether he is mentally competent.
According to defence attorney Harvey Fishbein, Mr Hernandez has had "diagnoses of schizophrenia and bipolar disease.
"He is under medication and in fact was admitted to hospital because of the medication."
The man who says he committed one of New York's most notorious crimes has "a history of hallucinations, both visual and auditory."
Mr Hernandez's confession, first announced on Thursday, was a stunning breakthrough in an unsolved case that has haunted New Yorkers for three decades.
Etan's disappearance on his way to catch a school bus brought an end to what was then the widespread custom of letting small children out of the house alone.
He was also the first missing child to have his picture plastered on milk cartons, appealing for information, and 25 May was named National Missing Children's Day.
Although police say he has made a lengthy confession to the crime, Mr Hernandez has not yet entered a plea. Officials have not said what evidence they have against him, beyond his confession.
"This is the beginning of the legal process, not the end," District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.
"There is much investigative and other work ahead, and it will be conducted in a measured and careful manner."
The next court appearance was set for 25 June.
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced on Thursday that Mr Hernandez had confessed to strangling Etan after luring him "with the promise of a soda" to the basement of a grocery store where he worked, close to the school bus stop.
Mr Hernandez said he then killed Etan, who had big eyes, a slightly gap-toothed smile and light hair.
"He then led him into the basement of the bodega, choked him there and disposed of the body by placing him in a plastic bag and placing it in the trash," Commissioner Kelly said.
The boy's remains are almost certain never to be recovered, Mr Kelly added.
