(PUEBLO, Colo.) — On Wednesday, Aug. 27, a jury found Corena Minjarez, 37 years old, guilty on all charges for her connection to the 2018 murder of two children in Pueblo.

The case originally began in January 2024, when one child’s body was found encased in concrete inside a metal container within a downtown Pueblo Storage Unit. Shortly after, in February 2024, the second victim’s body was found in the truck of a car belonging to Minjarez in a Pueblo Scrapyard. Upon identification, the children were found to have been missing since 2018.

Courtesy: Pueblo Police Department

The same month, Feb. 16, 2024, Minjarez and Jesus Dominguez were arrested and charged with the deaths of the two children after the Pueblo Police Department (PPD) confirmed DNA connecting the children, Yesenia and Jesus Dominguez Jr., to Dominguez.

Dominguez pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder on July 10 and awaits his sentencing hearing on Sept. 12.

Minjarez, on the other hand, faced an 11-day jury trial that began on Aug. 11. After deliberating for one day, the jury found Minjarez guilty of two counts of First Degree Murder of a Victim Under 12, and two counts of Abuse of a Corpse.

Minjarez’s sentence is two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Child abuse often does not have many witnesses, and this case was no
different. This made the collaborative effort of the law enforcement and prosecution team all the more important. We also recognize the community members who had to grapple with the traumatic facts and evidence in this case,” said Chief Trial Deputy Kyle McCarthy and Senior Deputy District Attorney David Dingess.