2nd man charged with murder of New Jersey kindergarten teacher, but no one could find him

A 26-year-old New Jersey man who has been on the run for a month has been charged with first-degree murder Friday in connection with the February murder of a beloved Jersey City teacher who was found strangled in a shallow grave after being declared ​missing.

The 33-year-old teacher’s ex-boyfriend was previously charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Luz Hernandez. The father of her three children, he was detained in Florida, in the Miami area, on February 10 as a fugitive from justice in connection with the death of a teacher. This was three days after her remains were discovered.

Investigators also charged a second man, Leiner Miranda Lopez, 26, with desecration of human remains and now with first-degree murder. Law enforcement sources say Lopez and a former boyfriend were involved in the Feb. 5 Kearney traffic stop on Central Avenue, near where Hernandez’s body was later found.

The search warrant also found additional evidence in the car, although it was not immediately clear what was found.

Although it is known how the beloved teacher apparently died, investigators are still looking for who. NBC New York correspondent Erica Byfield reports.

Investigators said Hernandez died from blunt force trauma and neck compression. As previously reported by a law enforcement source, she was likely strangled with a cord after she was hit on the head with something heavy.

Her family said she broke up with her ex a few months before her death, but they still lived together. Authorities say they are investigating the case as a domestic violence case. Lopez’s alleged connection to the victim is not clear.

Anyone with information on Lopez’s whereabouts is asked to call the prosecutor’s office at 201-915-1345.