An arrest has been made in reference to the death of Luz Hernandez, a New Jersey kindergarten teacher who was found in a shallow grave, in accordance with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s workplace.
Cesar Santana, 36, was arrested in a Miami motel early Friday by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Southern District of Florida and the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Job Pressure. He was charged with one rely of desecrating or concealing human stays and is being held on the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Evening Detention Heart as a fugitive.
Santana is Hernandez’s ex, in accordance with a senior regulation enforcement official.
Authorities are additionally looking for to arrest another fugitive, 26-year-old Leiner Miranda Lopez, who’s being charged with the identical rely as Santana. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s workplace is asking anybody with info on Lopez to return ahead.
Each Santana and Lopez are from Jersey Metropolis, in accordance with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s workplace.
In the course of the investigation, it was found that Santana and Lopez have been concerned in a visitors cease Sunday, the day earlier than Hernandez was reported lacking. Their automobile, which was not registered, was impounded and searched Tuesday and “extra proof was recovered,” in accordance with the prosecutor’s workplace.
Authorities didn’t make clear what the proof was.
Luz Hernandez, 33, was found in a shallow grave by investigators conducting a welfare verify on her at her Jersey Metropolis dwelling Tuesday. She was pronounced lifeless on the scene round 4:53 p.m., in accordance with a information launch from the prosecutor’s workplace.
Hernandez “died of blunt power trauma to the pinnacle and compressions to the neck,” in accordance with an post-mortem report carried out Thursday.
She was a mom of three, in accordance with NBC New York.
The kindergarten teacher had been working at BelovED Constitution Faculty in Jersey Metropolis since 2017, founder Bret Schundler instructed NBC News.
“She was an exquisite lady,” he mentioned of Hernandez. “She began with us as a teacher’s assistant and received her certification from the New Jersey Division of Schooling and turned a lead teacher.”
Schundler mentioned Hernandez liked youngsters.
“She was the kind of particular person we search for, who loves youngsters, and did a wonderful job academically instructing the scholars but additionally at exhibiting them that she cares for them,” he mentioned. “The kids liked her as a result of they knew that she cared.”
The constitution faculty was closed on Wednesday in honor of Hernandez’s death and is offering grief counseling to the varsity neighborhood.
