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

Jesus Dominguez, 37, took the deal final month in trade for decreasing 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 Corena Minjarez pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of first-degree homicide of a sufferer below 12 years outdated by an individual ready of belief, and two counts of abuse of a corpse.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 youngsters have been Dominguez’s with one other lady, 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 few trash can filled with “hardened concrete” in a storage unit rented by the couple. She then helped make them 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 stuffed with medicine, violence, and their shared wrestle to potty prepare his youngsters. He additionally admitted that he’d harbored a sense she could have executed one thing to his youngsters.

Dominguez stated that his daughter Yesenia died on his thirtieth birthday, March 14, 2018, in accordance with the Chieftain’s protection. On the stand, he stated that he was driving Minjarez’s 2004 Pontiac Grand Ma to select up her youngsters and his nephew from an elementary college 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 stated that Minjarez did not wish to get urine on her automotive. After he acquired again to the automotive with the kids, he stated that Minjarez got here as much as him and instructed him that Yesenia was not respiration. He stated that he rushed to drop the opposite youngsters off at Minjarez’s sister’s house whereas she administered CPR on the kid.

Whereas the couple thought-about 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 chunk marks and injury to her hand that Dominguez alleged Minjarez had inflicted on the kid months earlier than this incident.

As an alternative, he stated they drove to the house they have been being evicted from and positioned her physique in a suitcase. After they have been finally evicted, the household moved into Minjarez’s car, inserting 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 might be smelled “little by little” over time.

Yesenia’s physique would finally 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 dying of his sister and his household’s eviction, his father stated in court docket on Thursday. However as soon as they have been residing within the automotive, he stated his son’s was “going backwards,” having a number of accidents within the car.

In April 2018, he detailed one alleged accident, after which the household went to a neighborhood automotive wash. He claimed that Minjarez sprayed Jesus Jr. with a wand wash, per the Chieftain, and that the water stress brought on lacerations in his groin space, however stated he believes these accidents have been unintended.

Just a few weeks later, Dominguez stated he acquired out of the car at an house complicated to acquire some medicine. He stated 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 verify there have been no police close by.

He stated that in some unspecified time in the future throughout this drive, she reached again to select up one thing she’d dropped. Then, in accordance with Dominguez, she regarded again and instructed him that Jesus Jr. was not respiration. He stated that when he regarded again, he observed his son’s lips have been purple.

Once more, the couple determined to not go to a hospital, as a substitute driving to a discipline 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 car at an impound lot.

At a preliminary listening to, detectives stated 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 stated lived with them on the time of the deaths, stated she was the first disciplinarian for the kids. 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 suppose the younger lady understood what was anticipated of her.

Minjarez’s teenage son asserted that he confronted his mom in regards to 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 — notably his daughter.

The youngsters have been final seen alive in 2018, in accordance with the police investigation, with the physique of considered one 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 acknowledged no lacking individual’s report was ever filed for both little one.

On the cellphone with police, per the Chieftain, the lady instructed police she had a nasty feeling a few trash can filled with “hardened concrete” within the unit. When police responded to the decision and subsequently reduce 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 odor” coming from her daughter’s car. 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 car, which was tracked to a scrapyard one month after the invention of the primary physique. Autopsies on each youngsters decided their causes of dying as “homicidal violence,” however detectives famous the stays have been too decomposed to find out a extra actual trigger or date of dying.

Based on 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 buddy that each youngsters had died in 2018 and that she’d hidden their our bodies, per Regulation&Crime. That buddy 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 stated that Jesus Jr. died “the very same method” six months later.

Detectives investigating these tales with the car decided that this story was extraordinarily unlikely, as a result of how the again seat of the car labored. Extra probably, if a toddler acquired caught, they might nonetheless have the ability to use their arms or at the least make noise to get consideration, per The Chieftain.

A Fb publish from Minjarez to her son dated February 1, 2024, as learn in court docket, noticed the mom purportedly pleading for her son to imagine 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 way of Friday. Dominguez’s sentencing is ready for September 12.