KEARNY, N.J. — Investigators have charged two men in connection with the death of a New Jersey teacher who was found buried in a shallow grave.
U.S. Marshals arrested Cesar Santana, 36, at a Miami hotel on charges of desecrating and concealing human remains in connection with the death of Luz Hernandez, 33, the Miami Herald reported.
Hernandez was reported missing on Monday after she failed to go to work at the BelovED Charter School. Investigators who responded to her home after receiving the missing persons report described finding a “crime scene,” but did not offer details.
Santana is Hernandez’s estranged husband and the father of her three children, WABC reported. He has not been charged with killing Hernandez, but officials said they expect more charges to be filed when he is extradited to New Jersey.
A second man, Leiner Miranda Lopez, 26, was charged with desecrating human remains in connection with the case, WNBC reported. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said that Lopez was with Santana when the two were involved in a traffic stop on Feb. 5, near the spot where Hernandez’s body was later found.
Hernandez was reported missing on Feb. 6, when she did not arrive at work and did not call in advance to report her absence. Two of Hernandez’s three children attend the charter school where she works, WPIX reported.
The vehicle the two men had been in was not registered and was impounded by police. Detectives told WABC that additional evidence was found when officers searched the vehicle.
An autopsy performed on Hernandez revealed the teacher died from blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to her neck, WABC reported. A law enforcement official told WNBC that Hernandez was hit in the head with a heavy object and strangled with a cord.
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