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Jersey City kindergarten teacher, 33, found dead in shallow grave: mother-of-three failed to show up for school, then police found ‘blood spatter’ in her apartment
- A beloved New Jersey kindergarten teacher was found murdered Tuesday
- The body of Luz Hernández, 33, was found in a shallow grave
- Hernandez, a mother of three, is the second Jersey City teacher to be killed in a month
A beloved New Jersey kindergarten teacher and mother of three was found dead in a shallow grave Tuesday, hours after investigators found blood spatter in her home.
Luz Hernandez, 33, was last seen on February 4, but was not reported missing until Monday, February 6 when she failed to report to work at BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City.
Hernandez’s body was found in an industrial section of Kearny, surrounded by trucking companies, an area three miles from his home. Police have not said what led them from his home to the area around Central Avenue in the city.
Officers with the Jersey City Police Department went to her home Tuesday after a missing person report was filed. His case was also taken up by the Hudson County District Attorney’s Office.
It’s the second murder of a Jersey City teacher in a matter of weeks. Temara King, a PS-5 teacher, was fatally shot by her husband in a domestic violence case in January, police said. She was 35 years old.
Luz Hernandez, 33, was last seen on February 4, but was not reported missing until Monday, February 6 when she failed to report to work at BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City.
Hernández was the mother of three children, two of whom are students at her school.
Hernandez’s body was found in an industrial section of Kearny, surrounded by trucking companies, an area three miles from his home.
An anonymous cousin said NBC New York: We love her, her family, friends. She was an amazing girl and it’s so unfair for someone to take the life of her. Because?
‘She was one of the best teachers, everyone loves her, all the kids. It’s like, so hard to think about. We just want justice,’ they continued.
While a friend wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post: “I will never forget our conversations, I will never forget our laughs.” You will always be in my heart. Rest in the beautiful paradise. I love you Luz Hernandez, a wound that will never heal.’
Following the news of his death, classes at the school where he taught were cancelled.
BeloveED founder Bret Schundler said NJ.com: ‘People loved her. She was a wonderful coworker. She was a beloved member of the BeloveD family. People are 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 will be a desire to commemorate her and there will be a desire to support her family.”
An anonymous cousin told NBC New York: “We love her, her family, our friends. She was an amazing girl and it’s so unfair for someone to take her life. Because?’
Hernandez had taught at BeloveD Charter School since graduating from Saint Peter’s University in 2017.
BeloveD Charter School student mourns Hernandez
A memorial to the murdered teacher is set up outside her home
In a separate interview, Schundler said abc new york that Hernández was known as a teacher who developed close relationships with her students and staff and that her death had “completely destroyed” the community.
The Jersey City Times reports that news of Hernandez’s murder came hours after he made a presentation to the Jersey City Planning Board about the possible expansion of his school.
His death is being investigated as a homicide. The regional medical examiner’s office has not released Hernandez’s cause of death. As of this writing, no arrests have been made, according to Hudson County Attorney Esther Suarez.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hudson County District Attorney’s Office at 201-915-1345 or leave an anonymous tip with the office. website.