A slain kindergarten teacher’s estranged husband was extradited to New Jersey and charged with murder on Wednesday in Luz Hernandez’s death, as the second suspect remains on the run.
Cesar Santana, 36, was arrested at a Miami hotel on Feb. 10, three days after Hernandez’s body was found in a shallow grave in Kearny, New Jersey.
Prosecutors upgraded the charges against Santana to include first-degree murder, as well as hindering, tampering with physical evidence and failing to dispose of human remains in a manner prescribed by law.
Meanwhile, Santana’s alleged accomplice, 26-year-old Leiner Miranda Lopez, is still on the run.
Cesar Santana, left, has been arrested in Miami, Florida, in connection to the death of Luz Hernandez, whose body was found in Kearny, New Jersey. Leiner Miranda Lopez, center, remains on the run. (Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office/Facebook/Luz Hernandez)
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at 201-915-1345.
As law enforcement and prosecutors deal with Santana and hunt down Lopez, the community mourned Hernandez’s death.
The mom of three was a teacher at BelovED Charter School in Jersey City, which held a candlelight vigil on Feb. 10 where her colleagues and students grieved the loss of their friend and teacher.
“People loved her. She was a wonderful co-worker,” BelovED founder Bret Schunder said of Hernandez. “She was a beloved member of the BelovED family. People are feeling devastated by this.”
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said the body of Luz Hernandez, 33, was found in what appeared to be a “shallow grave.” (Facebook/Luz Hernandez)
Hernandez died of blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck, according to prosecutors, citing preliminary autopsy findings. The motive for her death remains unknown.
She was buried at Bayview Cemetery last week.
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Law enforcement identified Santana and Lopez as suspects following a series of events that started with a Feb. 5 traffic stop in Kearny, New Jersey, before Hernandez was missing.
They were allegedly driving an unregistered car, which was impounded by Kearny police.
Luz Hernandez, 33, a mother of three and a teacher at BelovED Charter School, was found dead on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. (Facebook/ Luz Hernandez)
“A court authorized search of the vehicle was executed on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, and additional evidence was recovered,” said prosecutors, who didn’t release any other details about what was found.
“The Kearny Police Department, knowing details of the traffic stop, led the Homicide Unit to the area of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny, where investigators ultimately located what appeared to be a shallow grave,” prosecutors said in a statement.
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“The body of a female, who was later identified as Luz Hernandez, 33, of Jersey City, was recovered a short time later, and she was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:53 p.m.”
Police also found “blood splatters” on the door of her apartment, according to NJ.com.
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Santana is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
Lopez was charged with desecrating/concealing human remains, but those charges can be upgraded.
