Charter school community pays final respects to slain kindergarten teacher Luz Hernandez in Jersey City
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A funeral was held Wednesday in Jersey City for a slain mother and kindergarten teacher whose body was found last week in a shallow grave.
The procession passed by the school where 33-year-old Luz Hernandez worked, as the community continues to grieve her loss.
Teachers and friends say elementary schools are supposed to be a place of joy, learning and creativity. Instead Wednesday, it was a place of mourning.
The funeral procession paused in front of the community charter school, called Beloved, where Fernandez worked. Teachers lined up along Grand Street to pay their final respects.
Hernandez's body was discovered last week in a shallow grave in Kearny, a day after she was reported missing. An autopsy revealed she died of blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the neck.
Her estranged husband and father of her three children, 36-year-old Cesar Santana, was arrested last week at a motel in Miami, Florida. He is charged with desecrating/concealing human remains, but more charges are expected once he is extradited back to New Jersey.
A warrant has also been issued for 26-year-old Leiner Miranda Lopez, who is still wanted in connection with Hernandez's death.
Staff at the school say they are trying to focus on the happy memories as they say goodbye.
"She was a light, she was everything for Beloved, and she was a great mother. She'll be missed," Toni Anncerbo said.
"For the kids not to have a mother or a father now, you know he's in jail, it's just really hard and sad," said Iris Gray.
The funeral procession made its way to Bayview Cemetery, where Hernandez will be laid to rest.
A GoFundMe has been set up for her children, and anyone with information about the suspect at large is asked to call police.