The death of a Jersey City teacher found in a shallow grave in Kearny on Tuesday has been ruled a homicide, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
An autopsy performed yesterday determined Luz Hernandez, 33, died of blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck.
According to her Linked in page, she was a teacher at the BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City since October 2017 and the school closed yesterday to recognize her passing, according to an email forwarded to HCV.
Furthermore, her Facebook page indicated that she was a mother of three children and taught kindergarten.
Hernandez is the second Jersey City teacher that has been killed in just over three weeks, with Temara King, 35, gunned down by her husband on January 24th.
On Tuesday, February 7th the Jersey City Police Department conducted a welfare check on Van Horne Street regarding a missing person’s report. The findings resulted in the Jersey City Police Department contacting the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for assistance.
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.
The body of a female – 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. Hernandez was reported missing on Monday, February 6th.
The HCPO Homicide Unit is actively investigating this case with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department and the Kearny Police Department.
No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone with information is asked to contact the HCPO at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/.
All information will be kept confidential.
