New York ( CNN ) -- The man who confessed to the 1979 murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz was indicted Wednesday by a Manhattan grand jury , authorities said . His attorney , Harvey Fishbein , said Pedro Hernandez -- who was arrested on second degree murder and kidnapping charges -- is scheduled to appear in court Thursday . `` Nothing that occurs in the course of this trial will answer what actually happened to Etan Patz , '' said Fishbein , who said his client has been `` repeatedly diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia . '' `` Partly as a result of that disorder , my client has an IQ in the borderline-to-mild mental retardation range , '' he said . Fishbein had previously told a judge that Hernandez has a history of mental disorders , suffers from hallucinations and is bipolar . Case 'awakened ' America . But district attorney spokeswoman Erin Duggan said Wednesday 's indictment was `` the outcome of a lengthy and deliberative process , involving months of factual investigation and legal analysis . '' `` We believe the evidence that Mr. Hernandez killed Etan Patz to be credible and persuasive , and that his statements are not the product of any mental illness , '' she said . This summer , he admitted that he choked the boy after luring him into the basement of a small Manhattan grocery store , police said . Hernandez allegedly told authorities that he threw away the boy 's body in a garbage bag . The remains have not been found . Investigation a 33-year long roller coaster ride . After attending high school in the Camden , New Jersey , area , Hernandez moved to Manhattan at the age of 18 , sharing an apartment in the city 's SoHo neighborhood with his older sister . He then took a job as a stock clerk at a corner convenience store in Lower Manhattan for about a month before returning to his mother 's south Jersey home in the summer of 1979 , according to family members and police . Etan disappeared roughly a month earlier , on May 25 . Describing Hernandez as having been a quiet young man , relatives say his demeanor changed upon his return to New Jersey . He grew further withdrawn while also frequently becoming ill , they said . Though his whereabouts after 1979 remain murky , family members say he at one point returned to New York . It 's unclear for how long . Patz disappeared on his way to a New York school bus stop more than 33 years ago . The boy 's plight catapulted concern for missing children to the national forefront after authorities put his image on thousands of milk cartons . Opinion : Missing children , perception vs. reality .
NEW : His attorney says Pedro Hernandez was diagnosed with schizophrenia . NEW : Authorities say Hernandez 's statements are not a result of mental illness . Patz disappeared on his way to a New York school bus stop more than 33 years ago .