Colorado police have arrested a father and his girlfriend in connection with the deaths of two young children who had not been seen in nearly six years.
Corena Rose Minjarez was arrested on Thursday and charged with two counts each of first degree murder and abuse of a corpse, according to the Pueblo Police Department. Her boyfriend, Jesus Dominguez Sr. — who is the father of the two children — is charged with the same counts plus theft of government benefits and was arrested on Saturday, KRDO reported.
They are charged with the deaths of Yesenia Dominguez, who was around three when she was last seen in the summer of 2018, and Jesus Dominguez Jr., who was five at that time.
Minjarez is not related to the children.
Pueblo Police launched an investigation last month when they learned that a metal contained filled with hardened concrete was found in storage facility, as CrimeOnline reported. On January 22, they discovered that the remains of a young girl were encased in the concrete and set about identifying them. At that time, they learned of the two missing children and said they had interviewed two persons of interest about them.
In the course of the investigation, police said they found a vehicle belonging to Minjarez in a scrap yard and executed a search warrant on February 6. They found a suitcase containing the remains of a young male child in the trunk.
On Thursday, DNA identified the children’s remains as Yesenia and Jesus and obtained arrest warrents for Minjarez and Dominguez Sr. Minjarez was arrested shortly after the arrest warrant was issued and is being held at the Pueblo County Detention Center on a $2 million bond. The whereabouts of Dominguez Sr. are unknown, and police have asked anyone with information to call dispatch at (719) 553-2502.
