Jesus Dominguez and Corena Rose Minjarez, Pueblo, Colorado dad and his girlfriend charged with murder after the bodies of the man’s two missing young children found, one in a suitcase in the trunk of a car, the other encased in concrete in a storage unit.
A Colorado man and his girlfriend have been arrested following the discovery of the bodies of two young children — believed to be man’s biological children — who had not been seen alive in nearly six years.
Corena Rose Minjarez, 36, of Pueblo was arrested on Friday and booked into a county jail, while her 35-year-old partner Jesus Dominguez, also of Pueblo was taken into custody on Saturday.
‘No sign, no indication of these children’
Dominguez’ two children – now identified as five-year-old Jesus Jr. and three-year-old Yesenia Dominguez – were last seen in the summer of 2018.
The little girl’s corpse was found encased in concrete inside a storage unit, and her brother’s remains was found in a suitcase, in the trunk of a car, at a scrap yard.
Police confirmed that Dominguez is the father of the two children found, while Minjarez is his girlfriend but not their mother.
Post July 2018, there has been ‘no sign, no indication of these children,’ Sgt. Franklyn Ortega with the Pueblo Police Department said just weeks ago.
The first remains were found on January 20 when Kings Storage Unit was being cleaned out, as the rent on it had gone unpaid, a prior release with the Pueblo Police Department stated.
The storage unit included a metal container filled with hardened concrete, and an investigation discovered the remnants of the girl, Ortega said.
No missing children report ever filed
Two days later, it was confirmed they were the remains of the young girl and the process of identifying them began. In the interim, Pueblo police issued a press release that officers were attempting to locate Jesus and Yesenia.
On January 31, police in Pueblo interviewed Dominguez, who was arrested for an outstanding warrant, and Minjarez.
According to those interviews, police said the only lead they had received from them was that they could be in Phoenix, Arizona – but the suggestion led nowhere.
On February 6, the investigation led police to a vehicle owned by Minjarez in a scrap yard, where they found a boy’s remains in a suitcase in the trunk of the car, police said.
By February 15, DNA testing showed the remains belonged to the two missing children. Police later admitted that they did not even know the children had gone missing until those tests.
Pueblo Police said no missing persons reports were ever filed for the two children and investigators were not aware of them until the day the Yesenia Dominguez’s remains were found.
Both Dominguez and Minjarez have been charged with two counts each of murder and abuse of a corpse. The nature and manner of death of the two children was not disclosed.
Dominguez has an additional charge of theft of government benefits as well.
Minjarez was arrested shortly after the arrest warrant was issued. Police said they found Dominguez Saturday in the 1100 block of Bonforte Blvd with the help of the community.
Court records show both are being held on a $2 million bond, and hearings are scheduled for Wednesday, 9News reported.
Available court records did not identify attorneys for Minjarez and Dominguez who could comment on their behalf.
Pueblo is a city of about 110,000 about 45 miles south of Colorado Springs.
