The body of a missing lady was discovered in a shallow grave in a secluded area of a New Jersey town, prompting law officials to launch a fatal mystery investigation. After Luz Hernandez, a kindergarten teacher at the BelovED Charter School, 33, failed to arrive at work on Monday, Jersey City police were summoned to a residence on Van Horne Street to do a wellness check. When she didn’t contact her family over the weekend, they became alarmed and a missing person report was made.
An alleged shallow grave and a woman’s body were discovered in the vicinity of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny during the course of the investigation by police and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. Hernandez, a mother of three who was pronounced dead at the scene, was the victim, according to the Hudson County prosecutor.
READ MORE: Molly Fredette, director of the Study of Loyola University Maryland has died
Prosecutors claim the death is thought to be suspicious. Police have deemed the death suspicious, although they have not yet disclosed how she passed away. The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause and manner of death.
The news stunned and “heartbroken” Hernandez’s family.
“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. “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.”
On Wednesday, her place of employment was shuttered so that people who knew her may grieve. As of yet, no one has been taken into custody.
Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or at http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/
