Husband Of Slain Jersey City Teacher Charged With Murder, 1 Man Still At Large

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Cesar Santana of Jersey City was charged this week with the murder of former Jersey City teacher Luz Hernandez, who was found in a shallow grave in Kearny on Feb. 7, prosecutors said.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday that the act is being investigated as an "act of domestic violence" and various reports have identified Santana as Luz's estranged husband.

Santana, 36, has additionally been charged with hindering, tampering with physical evidence, and failing to dispose of human remains in a manner prescribed by law.

Santana and another man were stopped by the Kearny police on Sunday, Feb. 5 for traffic violations, and their car impounded, but they were allowed to leave. After Hernandez' elementary school in Jersey City reported her missing on Monday, Feb. 6, investigators found her in a shallow grave in Kearny and federal agents began searching for Santana.

Santana was arrested by federal marshals at the Sinbad Hotel in Miami, Florida, on Friday, Feb. 10.

Another man who's been charged in connection with Hernandez' death, Leiner Miranda Lopez, 26, of Jersey City, is still at large, prosecutors said Wednesday. He's been charged with desecrating/sconceiling human remains.

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

Luz Hernandez, 33, a kindergarten teacher working on her master's degree, left behind children 3, 9, and 12 — two of whom attended the school where she taught.

A GoFundMe has been started for the children by her sister.

Her death was the fourth homicide identified as a domestic violence killing in New Jersey in 2023 — all of them in Hudson County. Since her death, two more domestic violence killings of women have occurred in New Jersey, one in Linden last week (in which two children were also killed) and one in Burlington County the previous week, reportedly in front of the woman's child. READ MORE: Four Domestic Violence Killings Of Women In New Jersey, All In Hudson County

READ MORE: 1 Man Arrested, 1 Sought In Death Of Jersey City Teacher

Where To Get Help

Each county in New Jersey has a domestic violence agency, and the state has its own hotline.

The national domestic violence hotline, reachable through phone, text, or chat, is 800-799-SAFE (7233), or you can text "Start" to 88788 to reach them by text.

The New Jersey hotline is 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). The list of county agencies and other information on how to protect oneself legally in New Jersey is here.