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Second arrest made in deaths of missing Pueblo children

Yesenia and Jesus Dominguez
Posted at 4:14 PM, Feb 17, 2024
and last updated 2024-02-20 01:09:31-05

PUEBLO, Colo. — Police in Pueblo announced on Saturday that Jesus Dominguez, 35, a suspect wanted in connection with the deaths of two children, is in custody.

The arrest of Dominguez follows the arrest of Corena Rose Minjarez, 36, whose arrest was announced on Friday. They each face two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse for the deaths of two children — Jesus Dominguez, Jr. and Yesenia Dominguez — who were last seen in 2018.

The remains of Yesenia, who was 3 years old at the time she went missing, were discovered in a metal container filled with hardened concrete in a Pueblo storage shed on Jan. 20. Jesus, who was 5 years old at the time he went missing, was found on Feb. 6 in a suitcase inside Dominguez's car at a Pueblo scrap yard.

After the Jan. 20 discovery, Pueblo PD said in a press release that it was attempting to locate Jesus and Yesenia. The children had not been seen since summer 2018 and were never reported missing. During interviews, investigators were told that the children may be in Phoenix, Arizona, but police did not locate them.

Subsequent DNA testing confirmed that the remains found in the metal container belonged to Yesenia and the remains found in the suitcase belonged to Jesus. Their deaths are being investigated as homicides.

Minjaraz was booked into the Pueblo County Detention Center on a $2 million bond. Dominguez faces an additional charge of theft of government benefits. His booking information is yet to be released. Pueblo PD did not say how the two suspects are related to the children.


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