Insets: Corena Minjarez, Jesus Dominguez Jr. and Yesenia Dominguez (Pueblo Police Department). Background The storage facility in Pueblo, Colo., where Yesenia Dominguez was found dead after allegedly being killed by Corena Minjarez (Google Maps).
A Colorado woman has been found guilty of killing her boyfriend”s two young children with his help and “hiding the bodies under horrific conditions” — one in a container filled with “hardened concrete” and the other in a car trunk — for nearly a decade, prosecutors say.
“Child abuse often does not have many witnesses, and this case was no different,” wrote Chief Trial Deputy Kyle McCarthy and Senior Deputy District Attorney David Dingess, prosecutors with the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, in a press release Wednesday following the conviction of Corena Minjarez, 37, of Pueblo County.
“This made the collaborative effort of the law enforcement and prosecution team all the more important,” the pair said.
Minjarez had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a victim under 12 years old by a person in a position of trust and two counts of abuse of a corpse for the 2018 slayings of Jesus Dominguez Jr., 5, and Yesenia Dominguez, 3, according to court records. Her boyfriend, Jesus Dominguez, 37, took a plea deal in July for second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Minjarez, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. He reportedly took the stand and described how he and Minjarez were using drugs and abusing the children, with Minjarez allegedly struggling to potty train both of them with Dominguez.
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According to the DA’s office, McCarthy and Dingess “presented compelling evidence” during Minjarez’s jury trial, which began on Aug. 11 and concluded this week.
“Despite the defense’s claims that the co-defendant acted alone, the evidence clearly demonstrated that Minjarez was responsible for the death of these two children and responsible for hiding the bodies under horrific conditions,” the office said in its release Wednesday.
Dominguez reportedly testified that Minjarez would force the kids to sit inside plastic bags while driving with them around town — allegedly retrieving drugs with them at times — because she didn’t want to get urine in her car. One incident leading up to the children’s deaths saw Minjarez spray Jesus Jr. down with a high-pressure water nozzle at a self-service car wash, causing lacerations near the boy’s groin, according to his father.
Dominguez told jurors that on March 14, 2018, he and Minjarez were driving the children to school. Yesenia had soiled herself and was forced to sit on the car floor in a trash bag when the 3-year-old allegedly stopped breathing in the backseat, according to the Chieftain. The couple thought about bringing her to a local hospital but refused due to signs of abuse that she was showing, per Dominguez, including bite marks and injuries to one of Yesenia’s hands that Minjarez had caused months earlier.
With Jesus Jr. still in the backseat, Minjarez and Dominguez drove to a house on Sundance Court and put Yesenia’s body inside a tote before eventually moving her to a suitcase and placing the luggage in Minjarez’s trunk after being evicted, according to Dominguez and prosecutors. Dominguez claimed his son never asked what happened to his sister.
Weeks later, the pair was reported to be living in Minjarez’s Pontiac, where Yesenia’s body was located. The girl’s remains could be smelled “little by little” as the couple began snorting Percocet and methamphetamine inside the vehicle, with Jesus Jr. staying inside the car with them as well, his dad said.
The boy had shown some progress with his potty training, but started “going backwards,” according to Dominguez, which allegedly caused more problems with Minjarez.
The couple was out picking up drugs in April 2018 with Jesus Jr. when Minjarez allegedly told Dominguez that the boy had stopped breathing while sitting in the backseat. Dominguez said Jesus Jr. was sitting near plastic bags and blankets, and his lips had turned purple. The couple, once again, refused to go to a hospital and instead took Jesus Jr. to a field near the Pueblo Dam, where they allegedly stuffed him inside a suitcase with layers of trash bags, according to Dominguez.
Prosecutors said Minjarez and Dominguez transported Yesenia’s body to a unit at the Kings Storage facility at 617 W Sixth Street in Pueblo and stowed Jesus Jr. away in the trunk of the Pontiac, which was eventually taken to a local scrapyard. The couple was living out of the storage unit until they were evicted, leading Minjarez’s mother to discover a trash can filled with concrete while helping them clear everything out.
Minjarez’s mother ended up being the one who called the cops in January 2024 after she grew suspicious of the container inside Minjarez and Dominguez’s storage unit, according to prosecutors. She told investigators about a number of disturbing signs she noticed over the years, including a “foul smell” coming from Minjarez’s car in the summer of 2018.
On Jan. 20, officers responded to Kings Storage and found the container.
“The metal container was searched, and the remains of a child were located within the container,” Pueblo Police said in a press release. It was Yesenia and her body was badly decomposed, with her autopsy report listing the manner of death as “homicidal violence” but with no cause due to the severity of the decomposition. Police located Jesus Jr.’s body two weeks later.
Dominguez, who accepted his plea deal on July 10, allegedly had a tumultuous relationship with Minjarez. As the relationship soured, prosecutors say Minjarez allegedly took her frustrations and anger out on Jesus Jr. and Yesenia, along with growing extremely jealous of the children’s biological mother. Family members of Minjarez allegedly told investigators they were concerned over Minjarez’s treatment of the kids before their deaths.
During a previous alleged incident, Minjarez had locked Yesenia in a room and forced her to finish eating a carrot. Her own teenage son allegedly got upset at her for being too hard on the kids, according to prosecutors.
A friend of Minjarez 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.
“The jury deliberated for more than a day,” the DA’s office said Wednesday. “After careful consideration of the evidence presented, the jury reached a unanimous verdict, finding Minjarez guilty on all charges. Minjarez was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.”
