Teacher Found Dead in Shallow Grave in New Jersey

Luz Hernandez’s body was found on Tuesday in a semi-desolate area of New Jersey (Pictures: Facebook/Luz Hernandez)

A kindergarten teacher was discovered dead in a shallow grave in an industrial area after failing to appear in school.

The body of Luz Hernandez, 33, was found in a somewhat desolate area in Kearny, New Jersey, on Tuesday, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez. 

Staff at the BelovED Charter School in Jersey City reported Hernandez missing after she did not show up to work on Monday. She is believed to have vanished since Saturday.

Police did a welfare check shortly before 1pm on Tuesday on Van Horne Street and saw ‘blood splatters’ on an apartment door, according to radio communications. Police obtained a search warrant and items inside the building led them to the site in Kearny that afternoon, according to the prosecutor.

‘During the course of the investigation, the Homicide Unit located what appeared to be a shallow grave in the area of Central Avenue and Third Avenue in Kearny,’ stated Suarez.

Hernandez was pronounced dead there at 4.53pm.

A state regional medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of her death.

BelovED founder Bret Schunder said ‘people loved’ Hernandez and that ‘she was a wonderful coworker’.

Luz Hernandez was a kindergarten teacher at BelovED Charter School in Jersey City (Picture: Facebook/Luz Hernandez)

‘She was a beloved member of the BelovED family. People are feeling devastated by this,’ Schunder said.

‘There is going to be a desire to commemorate her and there’s going to be a desire to support her family. Her whole family was involved, was part of the BelovED community.’

Hernandez was first hired at the school as a teacher’s assistant in 2017. She graduated from Saint Peter’s University.

Luz Hernandez is believed to have been missing since Saturday (Picture: Facebook/Luz Hernandez)

Her death is considered suspicious and under investigation by the county prosecutor’s homicide unit and the Jersey City and Kearny police departments.

No arrests had been made in the case as of Wednesday.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the office of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

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