Ex of Lady Who Hid His Youngsters’ Our bodies for five Years Testifies In opposition to Her

Jesus Dominguez, 37, took the deal final month in trade for lowering his involvement in his youngsters’s deaths to second-degree homicide. Corena Minjarez pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of first-degree homicide of a sufferer beneath 12 years previous by an individual able of belief, and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

The deal and fees come after the 2018 deaths of Yesenia Dominguez, 3, and Jesus Dominguez Jr., 5, as reported by The Pueblo Chieftain. The kids have been Dominguez’s with one other girl, towards whom Minjarez had reportedly displayed excessive jealousy.

Their our bodies weren’t discovered till early 2024, after Minjarez’s mom reported her considerations to police a couple of trash can stuffed with “hardened concrete” in a storage unit rented by the couple. She then helped cause them to the opposite physique.

On Thursday, Dominguez Sr. took the stand in Minjarez’s ongoing trial and pulled again the curtain on their lives on the time, which have been crammed with medicine, violence, and their shared battle to potty practice his youngsters. He additionally admitted that he’d harbored a sense she might have executed one thing to his children.

Dominguez mentioned that his daughter Yesenia died on his thirtieth birthday, March 14, 2018, in accordance with the Chieftain’s protection. On the stand, he mentioned that he was driving Minjarez’s 2004 Pontiac Grand Ma to select up her youngsters and his nephew from an elementary faculty with Minjarez within the passenger seat, Jesus Jr. behind him — and Yesenia sitting on the ground in a trash bag becuase she’d moist herself.

He mentioned that Minjarez did not wish to get urine on her automotive. After he obtained again to the automotive with the youngsters, he mentioned that Minjarez got here as much as him and instructed him that Yesenia was not respiration. He mentioned that he rushed to drop the opposite youngsters off at Minjarez’s sister’s residence whereas she administered CPR on the kid.

Whereas the couple thought of taking her to the hospital, in accordance with Dominguez’s testimony, they finally determined towards it due to seen indicators of abuse on her physique, together with chew marks and harm to her hand that Dominguez alleged Minjarez had inflicted on the kid months earlier than this incident.

As an alternative, he mentioned they drove to the house they have been being evicted from and positioned her physique in a suitcase. Once they have been finally evicted, the household moved into Minjarez’s automobile, putting the suitcase containing Yesenia’s physique into the trunk, in accordance with his testimony. Dominguez additionally instructed the court docket that Jesus Jr. by no means requested him about his sister.

Dominguez additionally admitted that he’d launched Minjarez to snorting Percocet and methamphetamine round this time, and that they continued utilizing the medicine, in addition to heroin, whereas Yesenia’s physique was within the trunk. He testified that her stays may very well be smelled “little by little” over time.

Yesenia’s physique would ultimately be discovered encased in “hardened concrete” inside a trash can in a storage unit after Minjarez’s mom grew suspicious of it when the couple was getting evicted from the unit.

Jesus Jr. had been making progress on his personal potty coaching earlier than the loss of life of his sister and his household’s eviction, his father mentioned in court docket on Thursday. However as soon as they have been residing within the automotive, he mentioned his son’s was “going backwards,” having a number of accidents within the automobile.

In April 2018, he detailed one alleged accident, after which the household went to an area automotive wash. He claimed that Minjarez sprayed Jesus Jr. with a wand wash, per the Chieftain, and that the water strain triggered lacerations in his groin space, however mentioned he believes these accidents have been unintentional.

Just a few weeks later, Dominguez mentioned he obtained out of the automobile at an residence complicated to obtain some medicine. He mentioned that his son was within the again seat close to a few plastic luggage and a few blankets, whereas Minjarez’s seat was reclined. He returned with the medicine and instructed the court docket that Minjarez started utilizing as he drove round to ensure there have been no police close by.

He mentioned that sooner or later throughout this drive, she reached again to select up one thing she’d dropped. Then, in accordance with Dominguez, she appeared again and instructed him that Jesus Jr. was not respiration. He mentioned that when he appeared again, he observed his son’s lips have been purple.

Once more, the couple determined to not go to a hospital, as an alternative driving to a subject close to the Pueblo Dam, per Dominguez’s testimony, the place they saved Jesus Jr.’s physique in a suitcase together with a number of layers of trash luggage.

His stays would finally be discovered nonetheless within the trunk of this automobile at an impound lot.

At a preliminary listening to, detectives mentioned that Dominguez instructed them his relationship with Minjarez had grown extra contentious, alleging that she would take out her frustrations on his youngsters.

Members of Minjarez’s household, who police mentioned lived with them on the time of the deaths, mentioned she was the first disciplinarian for the youngsters. In addition they expressed concern on the severity of that self-discipline, per detectives.

Her sister shared one alleged incident the place she says Minjarez locked Yesenia in a room till she completed consuming a carrot, with the sister saying that she did not assume the younger lady understood what was anticipated of her.

Minjarez’s teenage son asserted that he confronted his mom concerning the extreme bodily self-discipline she allegedly gave Jesus Jr., telling police he believed she was taking her relationship frustrations out on Dominguez’s youngsters — significantly his daughter.

The kids have been final seen alive in 2018, in accordance with the police investigation, with the physique of one in every of them not found till January 20, 2024, when Minjarez’s mom grew suspicious, calling police simply hours earlier than Minjarez and Dominguez have been set to be evicted from their storage unit. CBS affiliate WCSC notes that police said no lacking particular person’s report was ever filed for both little one.

On the telephone with police, per the Chieftain, the girl instructed police she had a foul feeling a couple of trash can stuffed with “hardened concrete” within the unit. When police responded to the decision and subsequently lower into the concrete, they discovered the decomposed stays of Yesenia wrapped in layers of trash luggage.

Minjarez’s mom was additionally the important thing to discovering the second physique, as she recalled to police an occasion in the summertime of 2018 when she detected a “foul scent” coming from her daughter’s automobile. She requested jokingly on the time if one thing had died in it, in accordance with testimony on the listening to.

The stays of Jesus Jr. have been present in a suitcase within the trunk of the suspect’s automobile, which was tracked to a scrapyard one month after the invention of the primary physique. Autopsies on each youngsters decided their causes of loss of life as “homicidal violence,” however detectives famous the stays have been too decomposed to find out a extra actual trigger or date of loss of life.

In keeping with the household, Dominguez supplied altering tales about what had occurred to the 2 youngsters. However on two separate events, Minjarez allegedly confessed to killing them.

She purportedly instructed a good friend that each youngsters had died in 2018 and that she’d hidden their our bodies, per Legislation&Crime. That good friend later instructed investigators that Minjarez claimed she and Dominguez have been doing medicine one night time and later discovered Yesenia “unconscious behind the again seat,” in accordance with detectives’ testimony. She allegedly mentioned that Jesus Jr. died “the very same manner” six months later.

Detectives investigating these tales with the automobile decided that this story was extraordinarily unlikely, on account of how the again seat of the automobile labored. Extra seemingly, if a baby obtained caught, they might nonetheless be capable to use their arms or at the very least make noise to get consideration, per The Chieftain.

A Fb submit from Minjarez to her son dated February 1, 2024, as learn in court docket, noticed the mom purportedly pleading for her son to consider her story about how the 2 younger youngsters had died, insisting it was an accident and inform him that she liked him and his sisters.

Minjarez’s trial is schedule to run by means of Friday. Dominguez’s sentencing is ready for September 12.