Prosecutor: Missing Jersey City teacher was killed, found in shallow grave
◾️ Luz Hernandez, of Jersey City, was reported missing on Monday
◾️ Police found the 33-year-old mother of three in a shallow grave in Kearny
◾️ It's the second homicide of a female Jersey City teacher in just two weeks
UPDATE: On Friday, the prosecutor announced an arrest in connection with the investigation of Luz Hernandez's killing.
JERSEY CITY —The body of a woman was found in a shallow grave in Hudson County, a day after police were alerted to the disappearance of a female kindergarten teacher in the city.
Luz Hernandez, 33, of Jersey City, had been reported missing on Monday, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Police did a welfare check at a home on Van Horne Street and then contacted the prosecutor’s office for support.
By late Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement found what appeared to be a fresh grave in Kearny in the industrial area of Central Avenue and Third Street.
Officers recovered a female tentatively identified as Hernandez, who was pronounced dead at the scene before 5 p.m.
Preliminary autopsy results for Hernandez were announced on Thursday — she was strangled and suffered blunt force head trauma in a violent homicide, Suarez confirmed.
Hernandez was a teacher at BelovED Charter School and was being mourned by members of her community online and in-person.
Cards and balloons were among a spontaneous memorial setup outside Hernandez’s home, as seen in video footage by CBS New York.
No arrests had been made as of Thursday.
Second Jersey City teacher found dead in two weeks
Just two weeks earlier, 35-year-old Jersey City teacher Temara King was killed, shot to death by her husband on Jan. 24.
Lucas Cooper, 39, was arrested in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and charged with first-degree murder.
The couple’s teenage daughter had called 911 at the time of her mother’s shooting.
King had taught special education in the Jersey City Public School District and worked primarily with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, according to her obituary.
Murder charge filed in separate Hudson County woman’s killing
Separately, a 24-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in West New York in what the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office was investigating as a domestic violence killing.
Daniela Garcia-Murillo was pronounced dead shortly after police were called to a residence at 4914 Murphy Place before 6 a.m. Tuesday, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
A 40-year-old West New York resident, Jimmy Elvira-Quintero has been charged with first-degree murder and weapons offenses stemming from the young woman’s death, according to the prosecutor.
Elvira-Quintero was in custody at Hackensack University Medical Center and would be taken to Hudson County Jail when medically cleared.
Anyone with potential information on either Hudson County case was asked to contact the prosecutor’s office at 201-915-1345 or submit anonymous tips online.
Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com
Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.