Beloved Kindergarten Teacher & Mom Found Dead in Shallow Grave Near Home After Going Missing | “Everybody Loves Her”

Trigger Warning: The following article contains graphic details of crime and murder which some readers may find distressing.

The body of a 33-year-old kindergarten teacher who had been missing since February 6 has been found buried in a shallow grave just a few miles away from her home and her workplace, the police said, as per ABC News. 

Luz Hernandez, from Jersey City, New Jersey, was first reported missing on February 6, which led to the Jersey City Police Department conducting a welfare check the next day in regard to the missing person’s report, according to a statement by Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez. 

Before discovering the body, officers with Jersey police saw “blood splatters” in Hernandez’s home near Lafayette Park, per NJ.

“During the course of the investigation, the Homicide Unit located what appeared to be a shallow grave in the area of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny,” Suarez said. “The body of a female was recovered a short time later and she was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:53 p.m.”

 As per ABC News' New York City station WABC, an autopsy revealed on February 9 that she died of blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck. She had been beaten and strangled, reported NBC New York. 

Hernandez was a kindergarten teacher at BelovED Charter School in Jersey City, which was just a two-minute walk away from where she lived, according to WABC. She was reported missing after she failed to show up to work at the school on Monday.

Hernandez's cousin, who wished to stay anonymous, spoke to NBC New York about the family's pain and suffering. "She was one of the best teachers, everybody loves her, all the kids," the cousin said, per the outlet. "It's just like, so complicated to think about this. We want justice."

The school’s founder, Bret Schundler, called Hernandez an amazing person and a wonderful kindergarten teacher who developed close relationships with staff and students, according to WABC. "This will be a shock to the entire community," he told the outlet.

“[She was a] very pleasant woman, beautiful children. It is sad that she passed away. I feel terrible,” a neighbor identified as Monique told WABC in an interview. “She always seemed so pleasant so I really didn’t think something so severe [could happen].” 

Hernandez left behind three young children, two of whom were students at the school she taught at. All classes at the school were canceled on February 8.

“The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit is actively investigating this case with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department and the Kearny Police Department,” said Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez. 

Hudson County Prosecutor's Office also revealed that "An arrest has been made in connection with the death investigation of Luz Hernandez." But did not give any further details.

References:

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/grim-details-emerge-in-missing-nj-kindergarten-teacher-death-investigation-what-happened-to-luz-hernandez-of-jersey-city/4095831/

https://www.facebook.com/HCProsecutor

https://abc7ny.com/luz-hernandez-kindergarten-teacher-killed/12791437/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-kindergarten-teachers-body-found-shallow-grave-close/story?id=96999123

https://www.nj.com/hudson/2023/02/jersey-city-kindergarten-teacher-found-dead-in-shallow-grave-in-kearny.html

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