‘Jealous’ father and partner accused of murdering children found in suitcase and encased in concrete

A Colorado father and his “jealous” partner are accused of murdering his children by another woman, after they were found in a suitcase and encased in concrete.

Corena Rose Minjarez, 37, and Jesus Dominguez, 36, were arrested in January in Pueblo, Colorado, after police found the remains of Dominguez’s biological children. A few months later, Dominguez’s lawyer accused Minjarez of being jealous of the children’s biological mother, The Pueblo Chief reported.

Police found the remains more than five years after the children were last seen in 2018, when they were 5 and 3 years old. Authorities found the remains of Yesenia, the youngest child, in a metal container embedded in concrete in a storage unit on January 22. A week later, they found Jesus Jr.’s remains in a suitcase hidden in the trunk of a car belonging to Minjarez.

Shortly thereafter, Minjarez and Dominguez were arrested and charged with murder and abuse of a corpse. Nearly 10 months later, at an Oct. 18 preliminary hearing for both defendants, investigators took the stand to relay their findings to the judge to determine whether there was probable cause to charge the two accused.

During the hearing, Dominguez’s defense attorney, Becky Briggs, placed the blame on Minjarez, suggesting she was jealous of the children’s biological mother.

She pointed to accounts from family members claiming Minjarez believed Dominguez was cheating on her with the children’s mother, the outlet reported.

Briggs told the court that the storage unit and car, where the children’s remains were found, were registered to Minjarez.

The 37-year-old apparently confessed to one of her friends not once but twice in six months, a detective told the court.

On one occasion, Minjarez allegedly told her friend that both children had died in 2018, adding that she and Dominguez were doing drugs one night and that she found Yesenia “unconscious in the backseat” later.

The detective testified that Minjarez admitted to someone six months later that Jesus Jr. died “the exact same way.” The detective told the court her accounts suggest the children may have been trapped in the back seat, asphyxiated.

While autopsy reports characterized their manner of death as “homicidal violence,” the causes of death are unknown due to the state of decomposition of the bodies when they were discovered, the outlet reported.

Even some members of Minjarez’s family have accused her of wrongdoing, having raised concerns about how she treated the children. A detective testified that a relative said Minjarez locked the 3-year-old girl in a room until she finished eating a carrot on one occasion.

Minjarez also told another relative that “life would be so much easier” without children, the detective testified in court.

In another case, her own teenage son told the detective that he believed his mother had taken out her anger over her difficult relationship with Dominguez onto her children.

The two adults were accused of locking the children up for long periods of time when they were not home and one of Minjarez’s relatives also told detectives about a time Dominguez allegedly slapped Jesus Jr with one hand open.

Minjarez’s public defender told the court there was no evidence his client was “in a position of trust” over the children since she was not the legal guardian.

Deputy Prosecutor Kyle McCarthy rejected that assertion, insisting that Minjarez and Dominguez were both responsible for the children’s well-being.

McCarthy also pointed out to the court that both adults had access to the car and storage unit in question – and that they were only two people who had that access.

The judge ruled during Friday’s hearing that there was probable cause to send both defendants back to court.

Dominguez and Minjarez are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 22, according to the docket.