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Cesar Santana, who was captured at a motel in Miami days after 33-year-old Hernandez was found dead in a shallow Kearny grave, was extradited to New Jersey on Feb. 21, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Santana had previously been charged with desecrating/concealing human remains, but after his extradition was slapped with hindering, failing to dispose of human remains, and tampering with physical evidence, authorities said.
Leiner Miranda Lopez, 26, of Jersey City, was charged with desecrating/concealing human remains, Suarez said.
Hernandez died of blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck, after her body was found in in "what appeared to be a shallow grave" in the area of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny, the afternoon of Feb. 7, Suarez said.
The men were stopped by police on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Kearny, the day before the 33-year-old Kindergarten teacher was reported missing, Suarez said. Santana's vehicle was impounded by Kearny police because it was unregistered, the prosecutor said.
Santana became a person of interest while Jersey City police conducted a welfare check at Hernandez's Van Horne Street home on Feb. 6, Suarez said. A court authorized search warrant was executed on Santana's car, where additional evidence was recovered.
That's when Kearny police led detectives to the area near the traffic stop, where they found Hernandez's body, Suarez said.
Sources with direct knowledge of the incident said only that Santana is the father of Hernandez's children. It was not clear what the nature of their relationship was.
More than $45,000 had been raised as of Wednesday, Feb, 23 on a GoFundMe page launched by Jenny Taveras for Hernandez's family, including her three children.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Hernandez came to the United States when she was five years old, the page says. She was set to graduate in May from St.Peter’s College with her Master's in education.
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