A Pueblo father whose children’s bodies were discovered in a storage unit and a suitcase last year has been sentenced to 32 years in state prison. His girlfriend is already serving two life sentences for the murders.
Jesus Dominguez, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder two months ago after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. The deal reduced his charges in exchange for testifying against his girlfriend, 37-year-old Corena Rose Minjarez, during her trial last month.
The case began in January 2024 when Pueblo police were called to a storage unit by relatives of the couple. The family had been clearing out the unit after Dominguez and Minjarez were evicted. While sorting through belongings, they became suspicious of a metal container filled with concrete.
Investigators soon took over and questioned both Dominguez and Minjarez. Dominguez initially told detectives he believed his children were in Arizona. However, a search of the container revealed the remains of his 3-year-old daughter, Yesenia, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.
Following the discovery, warrants were issued for both Dominguez and Minjarez. Minjarez was arrested almost immediately, while Dominguez was taken into custody two days later. “He was standing on a sidewalk eating pizza when officers approached him,” Pueblo Police Sgt. Frank Ortega.
As the investigation expanded, police tracked down a car previously owned by Dominguez at a scrap yard. Inside the trunk, they found a suitcase containing the remains of his 5-year-old son, Jesus Dominguez Jr, reports KKTV.
The gruesome discoveries shocked the community and led to multiple charges against both parents. Minjarez was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Dominguez, under his plea deal, avoided the same outcome but will spend more than three decades behind bars.
Among the charges dropped as part of the plea agreement was a misdemeanor related to public assistance fraud. Investigators said Dominguez continued to collect benefits on behalf of his children long after they were missing.
“He (Dominguez) was applying for benefits, and no one could account for the kids,” Sgt. Ortega explained. “He was receiving assistance for the kids at the time they were missing.” The case has left lingering questions about how the children’s deaths went unnoticed for so long and how Dominguez and Minjarez managed to conceal the remains.
Prosecutors have described the crimes as among the most disturbing in recent memory. Dominguez’s 32-year sentence closes one chapter in a case that exposed horrifying details of neglect, abuse, and betrayal within a family already fractured by violence.