Slain NJ kindergarten teacher died from blunt force trauma months after separating from husband

The beloved New Jersey kindergarten teacher who was found dead in a shallow grave on Tuesday died as a result of blunt force trauma to her head and compressions to her neck, the coroner said. 

Luz Hernandez, 33, a mother of three, was reported missing on Monday after she felt to show up at the charter school where she had taught since 2017. She was last seen on Saturday. 

Hernandez is separated from the father of her children, Junior Santana, who was spotted at church with their children on Sunday. 

The slain teacher’s sister told ABC New York that the couple separated in November but he remained living in the home, constantly giving excuses as to why he couldn’t leave. 

Her sister also said that the couple had a tumultuous relationship with Hernandez frequently confiding in family members that she felt she may be in physical danger.   

Hernandez estranged husband, Junior Santana, was seen with the couple’s children at church on Sunday, a day after the teacher was last seen

An unnamed cousin told NBC New York: ‘We love her, her family, the friends. She was an amazing girl and it’s so unfair somebody takes away the life from her. Why?’

While her cousin told the station that when Santana was asked about Hernandez’s whereabouts, he said that she ‘went out.’

On a GoFundMe page that has been set up for Hernandez’s children, a family member wrote that she was a victim of domestic violence.  

At the time of writing, neither the Jersey City Police Department or the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office have announced any arrests or suspects in the case. 

The educator was reported missing on Monday which prompted police to perform a welfare check at her home in Jersey City. When officers noticed blood spatters, a search warrant was requested and issued.  

Hours later, Hernandez’s body was found in an industrial section of Kearny, surrounded by trucking companies, an area three miles from her home. Police have not said what led them from her home to the area around Central Avenue in the town. 

She had been a teacher at the BelovED Charter School in Jersey City since 2017. Hernandez joined the school after graduating from Saint Peter’s University in New Brunswick. 

Her death is the second murder of a Jersey City teacher in a matter of weeks. In January, Temara King, a teacher at PS-5, was shot dead by her husband in an instance of domestic violence, police said. She was 35 years old. 

Hernandez’s cosin, Yajaira Germosen, said in a tearful interview that, ‘She was kind. She was a beautiful person. I’m gonna miss her so much, I cannot speak. It’s unbelievable’

Hernandez’s body was found in an industrial section of Kearny, surrounded by trucking companies, an area three miles from her home

Hernandez’s cousin, Yajaira Germosen, told the media Thursday, ‘She was kind. She was a beautiful person. I’m gonna miss her so much, I cannot speak. It’s unbelievable.’ 

Another unnamed cousin told NBC New York, ‘We love her, her family, the friends. She was an amazing girl and it’s so unfair somebody takes away the life from her. Why?

‘She was one of the best teachers, everybody loves her, all the kids. It’s just like, so complicated to think about this. We just want justice,’ they continued.

Her brother Christiano Hernandez told CBS New York, ‘She loved kids. She became a teacher because she loved being around kids.’ 

While a friend wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post, ‘I’ll never forget our talks, never forget our laughs. You will forever be in my heart. Rest in paradise beautiful. I love you Luz Hernandez, a wound that will never heal.’

Following the news of her death, classes were canceled at the school where she taught.

Hernandez was last seen on February 4th but wasn’t reported missing until Monday February 6th when she failed to show up for work at the BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City

Hernandez was the mother to three children, two of whom are students are her school 

 At the time of writing, neither the Jersey City Police Department or the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office have announced any arrests or suspects in the case

A memorial to the slain teacher is set up outside of her home 

BeloveED founder Bret Schundler told NJ.com, ‘People loved her. She was a wonderful co-worker. She was a beloved member of the BelovED family. People are feeling devastated by this.’

Hernandez had been teaching at the school since graduating from Saint Peter’s University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 2017. Two of her children are students at the school.

Schundler added: ‘There is going to be a desire to commemorate her and there’s going to be a desire to support her family.’

According to Hernandez’s fundraising page, she was a native of the Dominican Republic and moved to the United States at the age of five. Her page has raised nearly $7,000. 

In a separate interview, Schundler told ABC New York that Hernandez was known as a teacher who developed close relationships with her students and staff and her death had ‘utterly destroyed’ the community.

The Jersey City Times reports that news of Hernandez’s killing came hours after Schundler had given a presentation to the Jersey City Planning Board on the possible expansion of his school.

Her death is being investigated as a homicide. The regional medical examiner’s office has not released Hernandez’s cause of death. At the time of writing no arrests have been made, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the office’s website.