In this New York Times story, Pedro Hernandez, 53, made a full confession in court about the murder of Etan Katz. Hernandez allegedly killed the boy almost 33 years ago. Hernandez’s lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, told the court that the confession was false and that his client has mental issues that he shouldn’t be held accountable for. The court is still determining the outcome of Hernandez’s confession. The article was written by James C. McKinley Jr. and posted Sept. 15, 2014.
This story most resembles the anecdotal story structure. It starts off with a three-paragraph lede that describes the scene of the confession and that reveals a small portion of the actual murder. The fourth paragraph generalizes the main topic and sets the tone for the rest of the article. The next couple paragraphs go on to give context to the nut graph and from there the story develops and ends with the murderer taking the interrogators to the scene of the crime. The story structure creates a scene that is very captivating. The article wasn’t straightforward, but developed the story and added some suspense for the reader. I thought that it was interesting how the author went back and forth between the past and the present and how he went back and forth between the court room and the scene of the murder.
All of the information from the article came from the taped confession and information that the author was given from the court. The reporter offers no sources cited but within the article, he adds links to past New York Times articles related to the murder of Etan Katz. The article includes a few captioned photos and quotes from the accused and the interrogators as well.
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