PUEBLO, CO - Late last week, a Colorado man was sentenced to three decades in prison for killing his two young children with help from his girlfriend and for "hiding the bodies in horrific conditions," including one in a container filled with "hardened concrete" and the other in the trunk of a car for years.
The now convicted felon, 37-year-old Jesus Dominguez, was sentenced after taking a plea deal in July for second-degree murder and agreeing to testify against his girlfriend, 37-year-old Corena Minjarez, Law & Crime reported.
Prosecutors said the despicable act of "homicidal violence" was orchestrated by Minjarez, who was using drugs and abusing the children as they struggled with potty training.
The couple tried keeping the 2018 murders of five-year-old Jesus Dominguez Jr., and three-year-old Yesenia Dominguez secret by stowing their bodies away inside of a car trunk and storage facility.
Jesus Jr.'s remains were wrapped in layers of garbage bags and placed inside a suitcase, with a comforter, cat litter, and baby powder being used to conceal everything, as reported in court testimony from the father.
That suitcase was then placed in the trunk of the couple's car, which was eventually taken to a local scrapyard and found there by police.
The little boy's death came after Minjarez, who has already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison, killed Yesenia with Dominguez and put her body inside a tote bag before eventually moving her to a suitcase and then a storage unit where the couple was living.
Minjarez was charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a victim under 12 years old by a person in a position of trust and two counts of abuse of a corpse for the killings.
Dominguez took the stand during Minjarez's trial and described how she was struggling to potty train both of his children, which led to their mistreatment and ultimate deaths.
"Child abuse often does not have many witnesses, and this case was no different," Chief Trial Deputy Kyle McCarthy and Senior Deputy District Attorney David Dingess said in a press release following the conviction of Minjarez last month.
"This made the collaborative effort of the law enforcement and prosecution team all the more important," they wrote.
Dominguez reportedly testified that Minjarez would force the kids to sit inside plastic bags while driving around with them, retrieving drugs with them at times, because she didn't want them to get urine in her car.
One incident leading up to the children's deaths saw Minjarez spray Jesus Jr. down with a high-pressure water nozzle at a self-service car wash, causing lacerations near the boy's groin, according to the father.
Dominguez told jurors that on March 14, 2018, he and Minjarez were driving the kids to school when Yesenia had soiled herself.
She was forced to sit on the car floor in a trash bag when she stopped breathing. The couple refused to bring her to the hospital due to signs of abuse that the baby was showing.
With Jesus Jr. still in the backseat, the couple drove to a house on Sundance Court and put Yesenia's body inside a tote before eventually moving her to a suitcase and placing the luggage in Minjarez's trunk after being evicted.
About a month later, the couple was out picking up drugs in April 2018 with Jesus Jr. when Minjarez told Dominguez that the boy had stopped breathing while sitting in the backseat.
The boy was sitting near plastic bags and blankets, and his lips had turned purple.
Once again, the couple refused to go to the hospital and instead took the little boy to a field near the Pueblo Dam, where they stuffed him inside a suitcase with layers of trash bags.
Dominguez, who accepted his plea deal on July 10, had a tumultuous relationship with Minjarez.
As the relationship soured, prosecutors said that Minjarez took her frustrations and anger out on Jesus Jr. and Yesenia, along with growing extremely jealous of the children's biological mother.
A friend of Minjarez told cops she allegedly confessed to hiding Jesus Jr. and Yesenia's bodies in 2018 after they both died "the exact same way."
The now convicted felon, 37-year-old Jesus Dominguez, was sentenced after taking a plea deal in July for second-degree murder and agreeing to testify against his girlfriend, 37-year-old Corena Minjarez, Law & Crime reported.
Prosecutors said the despicable act of "homicidal violence" was orchestrated by Minjarez, who was using drugs and abusing the children as they struggled with potty training.
The couple tried keeping the 2018 murders of five-year-old Jesus Dominguez Jr., and three-year-old Yesenia Dominguez secret by stowing their bodies away inside of a car trunk and storage facility.
Jesus Jr.'s remains were wrapped in layers of garbage bags and placed inside a suitcase, with a comforter, cat litter, and baby powder being used to conceal everything, as reported in court testimony from the father.
That suitcase was then placed in the trunk of the couple's car, which was eventually taken to a local scrapyard and found there by police.
The little boy's death came after Minjarez, who has already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison, killed Yesenia with Dominguez and put her body inside a tote bag before eventually moving her to a suitcase and then a storage unit where the couple was living.
Minjarez was charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a victim under 12 years old by a person in a position of trust and two counts of abuse of a corpse for the killings.
Dominguez took the stand during Minjarez's trial and described how she was struggling to potty train both of his children, which led to their mistreatment and ultimate deaths.
"Child abuse often does not have many witnesses, and this case was no different," Chief Trial Deputy Kyle McCarthy and Senior Deputy District Attorney David Dingess said in a press release following the conviction of Minjarez last month.
"This made the collaborative effort of the law enforcement and prosecution team all the more important," they wrote.
Dominguez reportedly testified that Minjarez would force the kids to sit inside plastic bags while driving around with them, retrieving drugs with them at times, because she didn't want them to get urine in her car.
One incident leading up to the children's deaths saw Minjarez spray Jesus Jr. down with a high-pressure water nozzle at a self-service car wash, causing lacerations near the boy's groin, according to the father.
Dominguez told jurors that on March 14, 2018, he and Minjarez were driving the kids to school when Yesenia had soiled herself.
She was forced to sit on the car floor in a trash bag when she stopped breathing. The couple refused to bring her to the hospital due to signs of abuse that the baby was showing.
With Jesus Jr. still in the backseat, the couple drove to a house on Sundance Court and put Yesenia's body inside a tote before eventually moving her to a suitcase and placing the luggage in Minjarez's trunk after being evicted.
About a month later, the couple was out picking up drugs in April 2018 with Jesus Jr. when Minjarez told Dominguez that the boy had stopped breathing while sitting in the backseat.
The boy was sitting near plastic bags and blankets, and his lips had turned purple.
Once again, the couple refused to go to the hospital and instead took the little boy to a field near the Pueblo Dam, where they stuffed him inside a suitcase with layers of trash bags.
Dominguez, who accepted his plea deal on July 10, had a tumultuous relationship with Minjarez.
As the relationship soured, prosecutors said that Minjarez took her frustrations and anger out on Jesus Jr. and Yesenia, along with growing extremely jealous of the children's biological mother.
A friend of Minjarez told cops she allegedly confessed to hiding Jesus Jr. and Yesenia's bodies in 2018 after they both died "the exact same way."
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