Prosecutor: Estranged husband of Jersey City teacher, 33, charged with murder

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The estranged husband of a Jersey City teacher, 33, that was found in a shallow grave in Kearny earlier this month has been charged with murder, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced.

Cesar Santana. Photo courtesy of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

Cesar Santana, 36, of Jersey City, is charged with murder, hindering, failing to dispose of human remains in a manner prescribed by law, and tampering with physical evidence related to the death of his wife Luz Hernandez, Suarez said in a statement.

He was arrested at a motel in Miami, Florida, on Friday, February 10th as a fugitive from justice and was previously charged with desecrating/concealing human remains.

Santana was then extradited to New Jersey during the evening hours of Tuesday, February 21st and was processed on the charges in the early morning hours of Wednesday, February 22nd.

He is currently being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance and the matter is being investigated as an act of domestic violence.

Additionally, Leiner Miranda Lopez, 26, of Jersey City, has been charged with desecrating/concealing human remains.

He remains at large and anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at 201-915-1345.

On Monday, February 6th, Hernandez was reported missing to the Jersey City Police Department. On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, a welfare check was conducted on Van Horne Street regarding the missing person’s report.

The findings resulted in the Jersey City Police Department contacting the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for assistance and Santana was identified as a person of interest in the matter.

During the course of the investigation, it was determined Santana and Miranda Lopez were involved in a motor vehicle stop on Sunday, February 5th on Central Avenue in Kearny, prior to Hernandez being reported missing.

The vehicle was unregistered and impounded by the Kearny Police Department. A court authorized search of the vehicle was executed on Tuesday, February 7th and additional evidence was recovered.

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.

The body of a woman, later identified as Hernandez, was recovered a short time later and she was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:53 p.m.

The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck and the manner of death to be homicide.

This investigation is active and ongoing, with additional charges and/or arrests may be expected.

Hernandez, who taught kindergarten at the BelovED Community Charter School, is the second Jersey City teacher that has been killed in a two-week time frame, with Temara King, 35, gunned down by her husband on January 24th.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the HCPO at 201- 915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: https://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/.

All information will be kept confidential.


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