PUEBLO, CO – Police in Pueblo, Colorado, report the arrest of a man and his girlfriend following the gruesome discoveries of the remains of his young daughter encased in concrete and his son found inside a suitcase. The children had been reported missing in 2018.
Jesus Dominguez, 35, and his girlfriend, Corena Rose Minjarez, 36, were taken into custody in connection with the deaths of the two children. Authorities reported that a significant development in the case occurred on January 20, when a metal container filled with hardened concrete was discovered during a cleanout of a storage unit at Kings Storage in Pueblo. Police investigations revealed the remains of a young girl within the concrete.
Subsequent DNA testing identified the remains as those of Yesenia Dominguez, who was just three years old when she disappeared in 2018. Police brought in Minjarez and Dominguez, who were under search for an unrelated outstanding warrant, for questioning on January 31, but the couple suggested that the children might be in Phoenix, Arizona, a tip that turned out to be redundant.
In further investigations, it was discovered that Minjarez owned a vehicle abandoned at a local scrapyard. A subsequent search warrant led to the horrifying find of a suitcase in the car trunk containing the remains of a young boy. The boy was later identified as 5-year-old Jesus Dominguez Jr., who had also gone missing in 2018.
The suspects currently face charges that include two counts each of murder and abuse of a corpse. Dominguez is additionally charged with theft of government benefits. With the court setting their bonds at $2 million each, they are due for another court appearance on Wednesday. At this point, it’s unclear whether either suspect has legal representation.
Pueblo Police Department Sgt. Franklyn Ortega noted that this case marked the first indication of the children since July 2018. Despite previous welfare checks on the children, the police were unable to locate them, and no missing person reports had been filed.