Marisela Botello-Valadez.Photo: GoFundMe
According to local reports, including those fromtheFort Worth Star-Telegram,KDFWandWFAA, 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.
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.
Nina Marano and Lisa Dykes.Dallas County Sheriff’s Office
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.
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Marano and Dykes werearrested in Floridalast March, while Beltran was taken into custody in Utah last April.
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.
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.
source: people.com
