Pueblo storage facility owner recounts discovery of child encased in concrete
(PUEBLO, Colo.) — The owner of the Pueblo storage facility where the remains of a missing child were discovered encased in concrete recounted the events leading up to the discovery and her interactions with the two murder suspects.
Corena Minjarez and Jesus Dominguez were both arrested the weekend of Feb. 16 and charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the deaths of two children who had been missing since 2018.
Police found the remains of Yesenia Dominguez encased in concrete at a storage facility, and the body of Jesus Dominguez Jr. in a suitcase in the trunk of a car in a Pueblo scrapyard.
The 10th Judicial District Attorney has sealed the arrest affidavit, to protect the investigation. With numerous questions surrounding this case, Julie Brekke, the owner of Kings Storage in Pueblo, provided details law enforcement can’t give us yet.
“I try to think back to different interactions I’ve had with them, and none of it would have brought me to this,” said Brekke, reflecting on her interactions with Minjarez and Dominguez, who rented a storage space from her several years ago.
Brekke says the couple never raised any red flags, and actually seemed more trustworthy than some of her other clientele.
“I’m usually wary of certain people and can pick out if they are going to be trouble or not. But now it makes me second guess my judgment on things,” she added.
The storage unit was under Minjarez’s name, and everything seemed fine until she stopped making payments in November. Brekke received multiple calls from Minjarez’s family members attempting to pay off the debt, but none followed through with the payments. Fed up, and feeling harassed, Brekke decided to evict them.
“I don’t need 20 million phone calls on one stupid unit… I can’t have this in my business,” said Brekke.
About a week before the shocking discovery, Dominguez visited the storage unit. Brekke said he didn’t say much and was not suspicious. Despite receiving the eviction notice, she said he expressed appreciation for what she had done for them over the years.
“He never once alluded to panic, that, you know, oh, my gosh, we have to get stuff out,” said Brekke.
Neither Minjarez nor Dominguez retrieved their belongings from the storage unit. Brekke eventually removed the lock, and Minjarez’s mother visited to retrieve some items. Inside, they found a metal container filled to the brim with concrete. Though disconcerted, Brekke remained unsuspecting of the gravity of the situation until police conducted a full-day investigation and discovered the child’s remains on Jan. 20, recently identified as Yesenia Dominguez.
“When they said it was little bubbles… Or Yesenia, her grandma [Minjarez’s mother] calls her bubbles… I was just like, oh my gosh, you know… It was shocking. Heartbreaking,” Brekke recalled.
Brekke is close friends with Minjarez’s mother, who she says is also the children’s step-grandmother.
“She’s heartbroken… there’s not a day that goes by that she’s not crying and thinking about it,” Brekke said, adding that she has been trying to support her friend since this case started.
Two weeks later, Jesus Jr.’s body was found on Feb. 6. Following DNA tests confirming their identities on Feb. 15, the couple was arrested and charged.
Confronted with the unforeseen revelation she never anticipated, Brekke finds herself contemplating the significance of the events.
“I think this all happened for a reason, because, had they just come in and paid the rent… If those calls wouldn’t have happened to basically push me to evict them… It would still be unfounded. They would still be hiding that horrible secret,” Brekke reflected.
According to police, Yesenia would have been nine years old, and Jesus would have been ten. Thinking about one of her children who is around the same age, Brekke expressed a mix of disbelief and sorrow.
“It just kills me that they lost their lives for no reason… There are people that would have taken care of those kids if they didn’t want them… I just hope we get some answers as to why. I think they owe it to the whole town of Pueblo as to why,” she said.
Both Minjarez and Dominguez are currently being held in the Pueblo County Jail on a $2 million cash-only bond. They are scheduled to make their first appearance in Pueblo County Court Wednesday morning.
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