A Colorado woman allegedly orchestrated the murder of her boyfriend’s two young children with his assistance, concealing one of their bodies in a container filled with “hardened concrete” and the other in a car trunk for nearly a decade.
Corena Minjarez, 37, of Pueblo County, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a victim under the age of 12 by a person in a position of trust, as well as two counts of abuse of a corpse, in connection with the 2018 deaths of Jesus Dominguez Jr., 5, and Yesenia Dominguez, 3.
According to The Pueblo Chieftain, her boyfriend, Jesus Dominguez, 37, agreed to testify against Minjarez after accepting a plea deal in July for second-degree murder.
He reportedly testified last week, describing how he and Minjarez used drugs and abused the children, with Minjarez allegedly struggling to potty train both of them alongside Dominguez.
According to the Chieftain, Dominguez testified that Minjarez would force the children to sit in plastic bags while driving because she didn’t want urine in her car.
According to his father, one alleged incident leading up to the children’s deaths involved Minjarez spraying Jesus Jr. with a high-pressure water nozzle at a self-service car wash, resulting in lacerations near the boy’s groin.
Dominguez testified that on March 14, 2018, he and Minjarez drove the kids to school. Yesenia had soiled herself and was forced to sit on the car floor in a trash bag when the 3-year-old stopped breathing in the backseat, according to the Chieftain.
According to Dominguez, the couple considered taking her to a local hospital but declined due to signs of abuse she was displaying, including bite marks and injuries to one of Yesenia’s hands that Minjarez allegedly caused months ago.
According to Dominguez and prosecutors, Minjarez and Dominguez drove to a house on Sundance Court and placed Yesenia’s body in a tote before moving her to a suitcase and placing the luggage in Minjarez’s trunk after being evicted. Dominguez claimed that his son never inquired about what happened to his sister.
According to Dominguez, the pair allegedly lived in Minjarez’s Pontiac for several weeks before Yesenia’s body was discovered.
The girl’s remains could be smelled “little by little” as the couple began snorting Percocet and methamphetamine inside the car, with Jesus Jr. also present, according to his father.
The boy made progress with his potty training but then began “going backwards,” according to Dominguez, which allegedly caused more problems for Minjarez.
According to the father, the couple was out picking up drugs with Jesus Jr. in April 2018 when Minjarez allegedly informed Dominguez that the boy had stopped breathing while sitting in the backseat.
Dominguez reported that Jesus Jr. was sitting near plastic bags and blankets, and his lips had turned purple. According to Dominguez, the pair refused to go to the hospital and instead took Jesus Jr. to a field near the Pueblo Dam, where they allegedly stuffed him inside a suitcase filled with trash bags.
According to prosecutors, Minjarez and Dominguez allegedly transported Yesenia’s body to a unit at the Kings Storage facility on 617 W Sixth Street in Pueblo and stowed Jesus Jr. in the trunk of the Pontiac, which was eventually scrapped.
The couple began living in the storage unit until they were evicted, prompting Minjarez’s mother to discover a concrete-filled trash can while assisting them in clearing everything out, according to police.
According to prosecutors, Minjarez’s mother called the cops in January 2024 because she was suspicious of the container inside Minjarez and Dominguez’s storage unit.
She allegedly told investigators about a number of concerning signs she had noticed over the years, including a “foul smell” emanating from Minjarez’s car in the summer of 2018.
On January 20, officers responded to Kings Storage and allegedly discovered the container.
“The metal container was searched, and the remains of a child were discovered inside,” Pueblo Police said in a press release.
Yesenia’s body was badly decomposed, and her autopsy report listed the manner of death as “homicidal violence” but gave no cause due to the severity of the decomposition. Police discovered Jesus Jr.’s body two weeks later.
“During the investigation detectives located a vehicle belonging to a Corena Minjarez at a local scrap yard,” according to the police. “On February 6, 2024, police carried out a search warrant on that vehicle. Police discovered a suitcase in the trunk of the vehicle. The suitcase contained the remains of a young male child.”
An autopsy determined that the remains were those of Jesus Jr., who had also been a victim of “homicidal violence.” The investigation discovered that no missing person reports were ever filed for him or Yesenia.
Dominguez, who accepted his plea deal on July 10, allegedly had a tumultuous relationship with Minjarez, according to the Chieftain, citing testimony from local police detectives at a preliminary hearing in October 2024.
As the relationship deteriorated, prosecutors claim Minjarez took her frustrations and anger out on Jesus Jr. and Yesenia, while also becoming extremely jealous of the children’s biological mother.
Family members of Minjarez allegedly told investigators that they were concerned about Minjarez’s treatment of the children prior to their deaths.
In a previous alleged incident, Minjarez locked Yesenia in a room and forced her to finish eating a carrot. According to prosecutors, her teenage son became upset with her for being too harsh on the children.
Minjarez’s friend told cops she allegedly confessed to hiding Jesus Jr. and Yesenia’s bodies in 2018, after they both died “the exact same way” of accidental causes.
Minjarez’s trial is scheduled to last until August 29, according to the Chieftain. Dominguez is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12.
