Man Wanted For The February 2023 Murder Of Jersey City Woman Arrested
Thursday, September 12, 2024, 7:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
JERSEY CITY, NJ.- A 28-year-old Jersey City, New Jersey man wanted in connection for his role in the February 2023 brutal beating and strangulation death of a 33-year-old Luz Hernandez, a mother of three and Jersey City school teacher, has been returned from Colombia to face charges.
According to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, Leiner Miranda Lopez, 28, of Jersey City, was previously charged with first-degree Murder; Hindering Apprehension; Failing to Dispose of Human Remains in a Manner Prescribed by Law; Tampering with Physical Evidence; and Desecrating or Concealing Human Remains.
Taken Into Custody At Newark Liberty Airport
Miranda Lopez was taken into custody on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, by members of the U.S. Marshals Service and Detectives of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit at Newark Liberty International Airport and is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first appearance.
After fleeing the United States, Colombian law enforcement officials arrested Miranda Lopez on June 14, 2023, in accordance with a United States provisional arrest request. On September 11, 2024, Miranda Lopez was extradited from Bogota, Colombia, to Hudson County, New Jersey. Miranda Lopez and his co-defendant, Cesar Santana, 38, of Jersey City, New Jersey, were indicted by a Hudson County Grand Jury on Monday, May 15, 2024.
Both men were initially able to evade apprehension. Just shortly after the murder, the two men were stopped by a Kearny Patrol Police Officer. When the Police Officer conducted a motor vehicle check and discovered that the car was unregistered and subsequently impounded, Miranda Lopez and Santana were released.
Reported Missing
After Ms. Hernadez reported missing and the Prosecutor’s Office learned of the traffic stop, Detectives of the Hudson County Homicide Unit obtained a search warrant for the car, which led them to the area of the traffic stop on Central Avenue near Third Street in Kearny, where Detectives located Ms. Hernandez’s body a shallow grave.
A subsequent autopsy performed by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of Ms. Hernandez’s death to be blunt-force trauma to her head and compressions to the neck.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
