PUEBLO, CO – A Pueblo woman is standing trial this week, accused of murdering her two young children and hiding their bodies for nearly six years before authorities uncovered the grisly crime earlier this year.

Corena Minjarez, 37, faces two counts of first-degree murder involving a victim under 12 by someone in a position of trust, as well as two counts related to abuse of a corpse. Officials say Minjarez and the children’s father, Jesus Dominguez, killed 5-year-old Jesus Dominguez Jr. and 3-year-old Yesenia Dominguez in 2018, then concealed their remains in separate locations.

Investigators allege the children’s bodies were hidden at a self-storage facility on West Sixth Street and inside a suitcase in Minjarez’s vehicle. Court documents reveal the remains were left undetected for years until early 2024, when Minjarez’s mother contacted law enforcement with suspicions about her daughter’s actions.

Dominguez, who prosecutors say was involved in the deaths, recently took a plea deal, agreeing to testify against Minjarez in exchange for a reduced charge of second-degree murder. The plea agreement was finalized last month, and Dominguez is expected to be a key witness during the trial, which is scheduled to conclude at the end of August.

Law enforcement began investigating after Minjarez’s mother raised concerns about a metal container filled with concrete located inside the couple’s storage unit. She also reported having noticed an unusual odor coming from Minjarez’s car in the months following the children’s disappearance.

Police say they made the first grim discovery on January 20, locating Yesenia’s decomposed remains within the concrete-filled container. Autopsy results identified her as the victim but could not pinpoint a specific cause of death, listing only “homicidal violence” due to the extent of decomposition.

A second search led investigators to a vehicle previously registered to Minjarez at a local scrapyard. On February 6, police executed a search warrant and recovered Jesus’s remains inside a suitcase stashed in the trunk. An autopsy confirmed the boy was also a victim of homicidal violence.

Authorities said no missing persons reports were ever filed for either child. Prosecutors allege that as Minjarez’s relationship with Dominguez deteriorated, her treatment of her children worsened. Family members expressed alarm over Minjarez’s disciplinary methods and growing animosity toward the children’s biological mother.

Testimony from prior hearings revealed that Minjarez had at one point locked Yesenia in a room for refusing to eat a carrot, an incident that drew rebuke from her teenage son for being overly harsh. A friend of Minjarez later told investigators that Minjarez confessed to hiding her children’s bodies, claiming both children died by accident in similar circumstances.

Officials say the case came to light only after the storage unit was on the verge of being cleared out following the couple’s eviction. The mother’s decision to alert police ultimately led to the discovery of the concealed remains and the charges now faced by Minjarez.

Jury selection for Minjarez’s trial commenced on Monday, with proceedings expected to last through August 29. Dominguez faces sentencing in September as part of his plea deal, capping a lengthy and disturbing investigation that shocked the Pueblo community.