Arrests Made After Child's Body Found in Suitcase, Another Entombed in Concrete
Two people have been arrested on charges of murder and abuse of a corpse after the discovery of a girl’s body encased in concrete and a boy’s remains in a suitcase in Colorado, according to police and public jail records.
The City of Pueblo Police Department announced the arrest of Corena Rose Minjarez, 36, on Friday, and county jail records show the second suspect, Jesus Dominguez, 35, also was in custody as of Sunday.
Police found the girl’s remains in a metal container filled with concrete in a storage unit last month, according to authorities.
The unit was being cleared out after the rent wasn’t paid.
As part of the investigation, police began searching for two children last seen in the summer of 2018, Jesus Dominguez Jr. and Yesenia Dominguez.
The children hadn’t been reported missing, according to the police department’s news release.
Then 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 Feb. 15, DNA testing showed the remains belonged to the two missing children.
Police did not offer details on any relation between the victims and the two arrested.
Court records show both are being held on a $2 million bond, and court hearings are scheduled for Wednesday.
Available court records did not identify attorneys for Minjarez and Dominguez who could comment on their behalf.
The Friday news release from the City of Pueblo Police Department appears below.
On January 20, 2024, at approximately 8:37 a.m., Pueblo Police responded to the 600 block of West 6th Street regarding suspicious activity. Officers located a metal container in a storage unit that was filled with hardened concrete and looked suspicious.
On January 22, 2024, Pueblo Police determined the remains of a young female were inside the metal container. Police began the process of identifying the remains of the female and identifying persons of interest in the case.
On January 31st. 2024, Pueblo Police interviewed persons of interest in this case. Those persons were 35-year-old, Jesus Dominguez and 36-year-old, Corena Rose Minjarez. Dominguez was arrested for an outstanding warrant. During those interviews the possibility of the children being in Phoenix, Arizona was mentioned. Police followed up on that potential lead with no success.
During the investigation detectives located a vehicle belonging to a Corena Minjarez at a local scrap yard. On February 6th, 2024, Police executed a search warrant on that vehicle. Police located a suitcase in the trunk of the vehicle. In the suitcase were the remains of a young male child.
On February 15, 2024, Pueblo Police received DNA confirmation that the remains found in the metal container belonged to Yesenia Dominguez and the remains found in the suitcase belonged to Jesus Dominguez Jr. The Pueblo County Coroner made appropriate notifications to next of kin. This is the 5th and 6th homicide in the city of Pueblo for 2024.
On February 15th, 2024, at approximately 3:40 p.m., an arrest warrant was obtained for Corena Rose Minjarez and Jesus Dominguez for 1st degree Murder (2 counts), and Abuse of a Corpse (2 counts). Dominguez has an additional charge of Theft of Government Benefits as well.
Minjarez was arrested shortly after the arrest warrant was issued. She is being held at the Pueblo County Detention Center on a 2-million-dollar bond. Police have been unable to locate Jesus Dominguez at the time of this release. If you have any information on Dominguez’s whereabouts, please contact Pueblo Police Dispatch.
The investigation revealed that no missing person’s reports were done on Yesenia Dominguez or Jesus Dominguez Jr. Pueblo Police were not made aware of the missing children until January 20th, 2024.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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