Nina Marano and Lisa Dykes.Photo: Dallas County Sheriff’s Office
Two Texas womenaccused in the stabbing death of 23-year-oldMarisela Botello-Valadezhave been found in Cambodia after going on the run late last year.
An FBI spokesperson tells PEOPLE that Nina Marano, 50, and her wife, 58-year-old Lisa Dykes, are back in custody two months after they fled the United States.
The couple vanished on Christmas — the day that investigators allege they simultaneously removed the GPS monitors strapped to their ankles.
The Seattle woman was in town visiting a friend, according to investigators. She had gone out alone to visit several nightclubs in the city’s Deep Ellum entertainment district.
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 they allegedly skipped.
Police tried contacting the couple on Dec. 27, 2021, to no avail. On Jan. 4, Dallas County officials learned the couple had fled.
Charles Anthony Beltran, 32, isalso charged in Botello-Valadez’s killing. He remains in custody on $500,000 bond.
Marisela Botello.Facebook
None of the three defendants has entered a plea to the murder charge they face.
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 her friend’s 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 stains beneath the carpet.
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The blood was a match for Botello-Valadez, the affidavit alleged.
Speaking to theDallas Morning News, Dykes' lawyer, Heath Harris, insisted their fleeing was not evidence of their guilt.
“I don’t believe they fled because they felt they were guilty of murder,” Harris told the paper. “I believe they fled because they are concerned for their safety and they didn’t want to have to cooperate against the co-defendant.”
source: people.com
