A stepmum has been convicted of murdering her partner’s children before hiding their bodies in “hardened concrete”.
Corena Minjarez, 37, killed five-year-old Jesus Dominguez Jr and three-year-old Yesenia Dominguez.
She has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, as reported by Need To Know.
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The murders were carried out with the help of the children’s father, Jesus Dominguez.
Court documents reveal the pair stuffed the young victims into a suitcase in Minjarez’s car and a storage facility, concealing their bodies for years.
When they were eventually found, the children’s remains were so badly decomposed that their causes of death could not be determined.
The first grisly discovery came after Pueblo Police in Colorado, US, responded to a call about suspicious activity on 20 January 2024.
Officers found a metal container in a storage unit filled with hardened concrete.
Two days later, it was confirmed to contain the remains of a young girl.
Police then began identifying the victims and tracing persons of interest.
On 31 January 2024, detectives interviewed both Dominguez and Minjarez.
Further searches uncovered a vehicle owned by Minjarez at a local scrapyard.
Police executed a search warrant and found a suitcase in the trunk containing the remains of a young boy.
DNA testing later confirmed the male remains belonged to five-year-old Jesus Dominguez Jr.
An arrest warrant was issued for Minjarez and Dominguez on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse.
Dominguez also faces theft of government benefits charges.
The investigation revealed that no missing person reports had ever been filed for the children, who disappeared in 2018.
Dominguez accepted a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Minjarez.
On 28 August, Minjarez was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Dominguez is due to be sentenced on 12 September.
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