JERSEY CITY, N.J. (1010 WINS) — The ex-husband of a New Jersey school teacher killed her, stuffed her body in a storage bin and reported her missing two days later, according to a criminal complaint obtained on Wednesday.
Cesar Santana, 36, was extradited from Miami, Florida, on Tuesday night and faces first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the beating and strangulation of Luz Hernandez, the 33-year-old mother of his three children.
He made a brief appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court via videolink from the Hudson County jail on Wednesday. A detention hearing is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 27.
According to the complaint obtained by the Jersey Journal, Santana and family members reported Hernandez, a kindergarten teacher at BelovED Community Charter School, missing on Feb. 6.
Two days before, Santana was seen going to Hernandez's home on Van Horne Street, where she was alone, and one hour later, he was seen dragging a black and yellow bin from the area of her home, according to the complaint.
After witnessing Santana and his friend Leiner Miranda Lopez loading the bin into their car, Kearny police pulled them over at Third Street and Central Avenue on Feb. 5. The car was unregistered and impounded by police.
Police conducting a welfare check at Hernandez’s home on Feb. 7 found blood stains in the bedroom, cleaning supplies, a mop and "the faint smell of bleach." According to the complaint, that finding led Jersey City police to contact the prosecutor’s office for help, and Santana was identified as a person of interest.
After Kearny police led the prosecutor's office, Hernandez's body was found in a shallow grave near Central Avenue and Third Street.
Prosecutors said evidence was recovered in a court-authorized search of the car, including the bin, a shovel with black hairs, a pick axe, a rope with black hair and blood stains, and a clear plastic sheet with blood stains and soil. The rope matched the rope at the grave.
Miranda Lopez, who is currently a fugitive, has been charged with desecrating and concealing human remains but not the homicide. Santana was initially charged with desecrating and concealing human remains.
This investigation is active and ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office at 201-915-1345.
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