A Colorado couple murdered their two young children and hid their bodies in suitcases, including one that they stored in their car for six years, before being rumbled by cops
A depraved couple from Colorado have been arrested for the murder of their two young children, having driven around with one of their bodies in the boot of their car for over half a decade before being caught by law enforcement.
Five year old Jesus Dominguez Jr. and three year old Yesenia Dominguez had not been seen since the summer of 2018, according to Pueblo Police Department. Despite their prolonged absence, the parents maintained that the children were alive and well, supposedly staying with relatives in Arizona.
The chilling truth was finally revealed on 20 January 2024 when police were called to a storage unit occupied by the children’s father, 37 year old Jesus Dominguez Sr. , and his girlfriend, Corena Minjarez, also 37.
Living out of the storage unit, the couple’s secret was exposed when Corena’s mother stumbled upon a suspicious metal container and alerted the authorities. The investigation took a horrifying turn when police discovered the remains of little Yesenia encased in concrete within the container.
Following this gruesome discovery, detectives continued their search for Jesus Jr. Their investigation led them to a vehicle owned by Minjarez at a local scrapyard. Inside the boot of the car, they found a suitcase containing the body of the five year old boy, reports the Express.
Both Dominguez and Minjarez were subsequently arrested for the murders of the children. In July, Dominguez accepted a plea deal and agreed to testify against his girlfriend, as reported by KKTV.
During her trial on Thursday, Dominguez shared the devastating account of her children’s murders.
As reported by local news source The Pueblo Chieftain, Dominguez detailed the tragic death of her daughter Yesenia on March 14, 2018. She was driving her partner’s 2004 Pontiac Grand Am to collect her kids and nephew from school when the incident occurred.
Yesenia had an accident in the car, leading Minjarez to make her sit on a bin bag on the floor to prevent urine from staining the vehicle. Later, Minjarez informed Dominguez that Yesenia had stopped breathing.
Despite visible signs of abuse, including a bite mark on her hand, they didn’t seek medical help.
Out of fear, they returned home – a property they were being evicted from – and put Yesenia’s body in a suitcase. After eviction, the family moved into the Pontiac, with the suitcase containing Yesenia’s remains hidden in the boot.
While living in the car, both Dominguez and Minjarez regularly used heroin and snorted meth. Gradually, they began to notice the smell of decomposition from the trunk.
Their son Jesus Jr also started regressing in his toilet training and began wetting himself, which infuriated Minjarez.
In a horrifying incident in April 2018, Jesus Jr had an accident in the car, leading Minjarez to clean him with a power washer so forceful it caused lacerations near the boy’s groin.
A few weeks later, Dominguez described his son’s tragic last moments. He claimed that while on a drug run, Jesus Jr stopped breathing in the car, mirroring his sister’s fate.
Instead of seeking medical help, the couple chose to place the boy’s body in a suitcase, wrapped in multiple bin bags.
The gruesome crime was uncovered when Minjarez’s mother alerted the police after discovering a suspicious bin filled with concrete in the couple’s storage unit. She also remembered a particularly “foul” odour emanating from her daughter’s car back in 2018.
Upon investigation, the police found Yesenia’s body in the storage unit. They then obtained a warrant to inspect Minjarez’s former vehicle, which was in a scrapyard, and discovered Jesus Jr’s remains in the boot.
Post-mortem examinations concluded that both children died due to “homicidal violence.” However, the bodies were too decomposed to establish a precise cause or date of death, according to detectives.
After their arrest, Dominguez pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder related to the 2018 deaths of 5 year old Jesus Dominguez Jr. and 3 year old Yesenia Dominguez.
As part of his plea bargain, he was required to testify against his girlfriend Minjarez, who is currently facing a trial for two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse.
Dominguez’s sentencing is set for 12 September, while Minjarez’s trial is expected to continue until 29 August.
The defence wrapped up their closing arguments on Monday, suggesting that Dominguez was the real culprit behind the deaths and that Minjarez only shielded him out of love.
The case now rests in the hands of the jury, who are yet to deliver a verdict.
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