NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City prosecutor says a man accused of killing 6-year-old Etan Patz (AY'-tahn payts) 37 years ago didn't make up his confession.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi gave her closing argument Tuesday at the trial of Pedro Hernandez. An earlier trial for the Maple Shade, New Jersey, man ended in a hung jury.

The defense says Hernandez is mentally ill and falsely confessed.

Illuzzi said Hernandez was a careful observer who watched Etan before choosing him as a victim. She says his statements over the years that he killed someone, plus his consistency in his confessions to authorities, prove he didn't make it up.

Etan vanished while walking to school on May 25, 1979. His face was one of the first on milk cartons. His body has never been found.