Jersey City’s Luz Hernandez: Police arrest man they think is sharing kids with kindergarten teacher found dead in shallow grave

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — A suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of a beloved kindergarten teacher, whose body was found in a shallow grave earlier this week.

Luz Hernandez, a 33-year-old kindergarten teacher from Jersey City, New Jersey, was first reported missing on Monday, prompting the Jersey City Police Department to conduct a welfare check the following day in connection with a missing person report. . Hudson County Attorney Esther Suarez.

Her body was discovered in a shallow grave Tuesday afternoon in Kearny, New Jersey, just a few miles from where she lived and worked.

Autopsy results released Thursday show she died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck compression, New York radio station ABC News WABC reported.

Hudson County Attorney Esther Suarez announced the arrest of a suspect, but did not provide any further information about who the suspect was or what possible connection he might have with Hernandez.

“The arrest was made in connection with the investigation into the death of Luz Hernandez. Further details follow,” Saures tweeted early Friday morning.

Hernandez was a kindergarten teacher at BelovED Charter School in Jersey City, and her death sparked an outpouring of grief in the community after the mother-of-three didn’t show up for work on Monday.

An impromptu memorial appeared near her house, where people left flowers and wrote condolences.

“[She was] the best sister in the world… this is incredible,” Hernandez’s sister told WABC.

Hernandez is separated from her husband, Junior Santana, who was reportedly at church on Sunday with his children. The family said that his whereabouts are currently unknown.

“[She was a] very nice woman, beautiful children. It’s sad that she passed away. I feel terrible,” said a neighbor, identified as Monique, in an interview with WABC. “She always seemed so sweet, so I really didn’t think about something that serious.” [could happen].”

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Hudson County Attorney’s Office at 201-915-1345 or leave an anonymous review. All information will be confidential.