A defendant’s murder conviction in a retrial over the disappearance and death of 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979 should be thrown out because the new jury knew members of the first jury were sitting in court with the victim’s family, his attorneys said Wednesday.

Alice Fontier of The Bronx Defenders said in court papers that her client, Pedro Hernandez, could not have gotten a fair trial because the jury was unfairly influenced by how close former jurors were to the Patz family.