48°
Cesar Santana, 36, was captured at a motel in Miami while Leiner Miranda Lopez, 26, was still being sought as of 12 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, on charges of desecrating/concealing human remains, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther 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.
Kearny police led detectives to the area near the traffic stop, where they found Hernandez's body in "what appeared to be a shallow grave" in the area of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny, around 4:55 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, according to Suarez.
Hernandez died of blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck, Suarez said.
More than $10,400 had been raised as of Friday morning 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.
Hernandez worked at BeLoved Charter School in Jersey City as a Kindergarten.
"She was a passionate educator worked tirelessly to improve children educational abilities," Taveras writes.
Santana was being held at the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Night Detention Center as a Fugitive from Justice pending extradition to New Jersey.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Newark and receive free news updates.
