Former Clerk at Bodega Where Etan Patz's Alleged Killer Worked Says Employees Had Access to Basement Key

A former clerk at the bodega where prosecutors say 6-year-old Etan Patz was strangled testified Monday that employees had access to the basement key.

Pedro Hernandez confessed to killing the child in 1979, saying he lured him there, strangled him, put him in a trash bag and left him in an alley.

Hernandez's defense lawyers say he's mentally ill and and doesn't know what he did.

Previous testimony indicated that the basement's key was regulated, so Hernandez might not have been able to attack the boy there, but a former bodega clerk told jurors that he would walk around with the key during his shift.

Hernandez's attorney, Harvey Fishbein, said the testimony had holes.

"I think that witness's memory was very questionable," Fishbein said. "He couldn't remember when he worked there, when he left, how long he worked there, so his memory of where the keys might have been at any given time, I'll let the jury decide if they believe that or not."

The prosecution expects to wrap up its murder case against Pedro Hernandez by the end of the week. The defense will then start calling its witnesses.