Corena Minjarez, a 37-year-old woman from Colorado, is currently facing trial for the alleged murder of two young children, aged 3 and 5. The victims, Jesus Dominguez Jr. and Yesenia Dominguez, were reportedly killed in 2018. Minjarez is 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, according to court documents.
The children’s father, Jesus Dominguez, is also implicated in the crime. The bodies of the children were reportedly hidden in a storage unit at the Kings Storage facility in Pueblo and in a suitcase in the trunk of Minjarez’s car. Dominguez has reportedly agreed to a plea deal, pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Minjarez.
The relationship between Minjarez and Dominguez was reportedly fraught with tension. Prosecutors allege that Minjarez took out her frustrations on the children and harbored intense jealousy towards their biological mother. Family members of Minjarez reportedly expressed concern about her treatment of the children to investigators.
In one alleged incident, Minjarez reportedly locked Yesenia in a room and forced her to finish eating a carrot. Her own teenage son reportedly reprimanded her for being too harsh on the children. A friend of Minjarez also told police that she confessed to hiding the bodies of the children in 2018, claiming they died of accidental causes.
Minjarez’s mother was the one who reported her to the police. She became suspicious of a metal container filled with concrete in the storage unit that Minjarez and Dominguez were using. The couple had been evicted from the storage facility, and the unit was being prepared for clearance. The mother also reported a foul smell emanating from Minjarez’s car in the summer of 2018.
On January 20, police responded to the storage facility and found the container. Inside, they discovered the decomposed remains of a child, later identified as Yesenia. The cause of death was listed as “homicidal violence,” but the exact cause could not be determined due to the advanced state of decomposition.
A few weeks later, police found a suitcase in the trunk of a car belonging to Minjarez at a local scrap yard. Inside the suitcase were the remains of a young male child, later identified as Jesus. His cause of death was also listed as “homicidal violence.” The investigation revealed that no missing person reports were ever filed for either child.
Jury selection for Minjarez’s trial began on Monday, with proceedings expected to continue until August 29. Dominguez accepted his plea deal on July 10 and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12.