Grim Details Emerge in Missing NJ Kindergarten Teacher Death Investigation: What Happened to Luz?

A 33-year-old New Jersey kindergarten teacher whose body was found in a shallow grave a day after she was reported missing this week died by blunt force trauma and compressions to the neck, prosecutors said Thursday as they confirmed the case had become a homicide investigation.

The Hudson County prosecutor’s office shared Thursday’s autopsy results in Luz Hernandez’s case the same day the procedure was conducted. It also confirmed her identity, which had been tentative pending coroner confirmation.

While they know how the beloved teacher apparently died, investigators are still searching for the who. No arrests have been made in the case, which launched Monday when a missing person report was filed. Hernandez didn’t show up for work that day, which led her family, already panicked when they didn’t hear from her over the weekend, to call police.

Jersey City police officers conducted a welfare check at Hernandez’s Van Horne Street home Tuesday. It’s not clear what they found, but prosecutors said it was enough to lead cops to contact their office for assistance.

Over the course of the investigation, homicide detectives found what appeared to be a shallow grave near Central Avenue and Third Street, a remote area of nearby Kearny. Hernandez’s body was recovered a short time later.

The mother of three was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hernandez’s family was “heartbroken” by the news.

“We love her, her family, the friends. She was an amazing girl and it’s so unfair somebody takes away the life from her. Why?” said a cousin who didn’t wish to be identified by name. “She was one of the best teachers, everybody loves her, all the kids. It’s just like, so complicated to think about this. We just want justice.”

The school where she taught was closed for the day on Wednesday to allow those who knew her to grieve. There was a growing memorial for the popular teacher, where a 6-year-old student of Hernandez’s left a card that said “I love you.”

Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or submit a tip online here.