Marisela Botello-Valadez| Couple Murdered Her, Posted Bond Then Vanished
Couple Lisa Dykes and Lisa Marano Murdered Marisela Botello-Valadez, posted bond then disappeared on Christmas Day.
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Marisela Botello-Valadez | Nina Marano and Lisa Dykes were arrested in Florida last March, while Beltran was taken into custody in Utah last April.
Court documents say two women charged with murder and evidence tampering in the October 2020 slaying of a Seattle woman have removed their ankle monitors and fled while free on bond.
Documents filed this week state that 50-year-old Nina Marano and her 58-year-old wife, Lisa Dykes, removed their GPS trackers within moments of each other — and at the same location – on Christmas Day and skipped their $500,000 bonds.
Authorities are searching for two accused murderers who were out on bail and allegedly went on the run last month.
According to local reports, including those from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, KDFW and WFAA, court documents filed this week in Texas allege Nina Marano, 50, and her wife, 58-year-old Lisa Dykes, simultaneously removed their GPS trackers on Christmas Day.
According to court documents, the GPS signal to both Dykes and Marano’s ankle monitors was lost on Christmas Day.
Two days later, officers sent texts and emails to their last known numbers to no avail.
Dykes and Marano are two of the three people arrested in June 2021 by Dallas Police for their alleged involvement in the stabbing death of 23-year-old Marisela Botello-Valadez.
Botello-Valadez was last seen alive in Dallas on Oct. 4, 2020. The Seattle woman was in town visiting a friend, according to investigators.
Her body was found in a wooded area in Wilmer, Texas, five months later, on March 24, 2021.
Marano and Dykes were out on house arrest after each posted $500,000 bonds for their release — bonds that officials now allege they have skipped.
Police tried contacting the couple on Dec. 27, 2021, to no avail. On Jan. 4, Dallas County officials learned the couple had fled, per WFAA.
Dykes’ attorney, Heath Harris, spoke to Fox News Digital, and claimed that the batteries in his client’s ankle monitor died.
“I just hope that nothing’s happened to them, you know? I hope that they’re safe,” Harris said. “I hope that they can explain to the judge why they haven’t stayed in contact with the electronic monitoring people. And when the time comes for us to go to trial, they’ll be able to tell the story as far as that is concerned.”
Charles Anthony Beltran, 32, also charged in Botello-Valadez’s killing, remains in custody on $500,000 bond.
None of the three defendants has entered a plea to the murder charge they face.
Botello-Valadez had traveled to Dallas from Seattle on Oct. 2, 2020, to visit a friend. Two days later, she took a Lyft from his home and never returned.
Police alleged in an affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE that Botello-Valadez was last seen leaving a club called Select Start with a man they believe was Beltran in the early morning hours of Oct. 5, 2020.
Detectives used cell phone records to determine Marano, Dykes and Beltran were with Botello-Valadez at the home of Dykes and Beltran in Mesquite, Texas, “on the last date [Botello-Valadez] was known to be alive.”
A search of Dykes’ and Beltran’s residence allegedly revealed the carpet had been cleaned, and there were blood staines beneath the carpet.
The blood was a match for Botello-Valadez, the affidavit alleged.
A motive for the killing, if known, has not been released by police.
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