A Colorado woman is on trial this week for allegedly killing two young children, ages 3 and 5, with the help of their father, hiding one of their bodies in a container filled with “hardened concrete” and the other in a car trunk for nearly a decade, until her mother became suspicious, according to cops and prosecutors.
Corena Minjarez, 37, 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.
Minjarez and the children’s father, Jesus Dominguez, allegedly killed the children and then hid their bodies in a unit at the Kings Storage facility at 617 W Sixth Street in Pueblo, as well as a suitcase in Minjarez’s car trunk.
According to The Pueblo Chieftain, Dominguez accepted a plea deal in which he agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Minjarez, with whom he allegedly had a tumultuous relationship.
As the relationship deteriorated, prosecutors claim Minjarez took her frustrations and anger out on Jesus and Yesenia, while also becoming extremely jealous of the children’s biological mother.
The Chieftain reported that Minjarez’s family members told investigators they were concerned about his treatment of the children, citing testimony from Pueblo detectives who spoke with them.
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 accused her of being too harsh on the children.
Minjarez’s friend told cops she allegedly confessed to hiding Jesus and Yesenia’s bodies in 2018, after they both died “the exact same way” of accidental causes.
According to the Chieftain, Minjarez’s mother reported her to police after becoming suspicious of a metal container full of concrete inside Minjarez and Dominguez’s unit at Kings Storage, which was about to be cleared out by facility workers after the couple was evicted.
She told investigators about a number of disturbing signs she allegedly noticed over the years, including a “foul smell” coming from Minjarez’s car in the summer of 2018, before calling police in January 2024, according to the Chieftain.
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’ body a few 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 revealed that Jesus was the body in question, and that he had also suffered “homicidal violence.” The investigation discovered that no missing person reports were ever filed for him or Yesenia.
Jury selection for Minjarez’s trial began Monday, and the proceedings are scheduled to last until August 29, according to the Chieftain. Dominguez accepted his plea deal on July 10 and was reportedly included on the witness list obtained by the local newspaper. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12.
