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Couple Accused Of Murdering Woman Allegedly Remove Their Ankle Monitors To Evade Cops
Nina Marano and her wife Lisa Dykes were indicted for the murder of Marisela Botello-Valadez but released on bond. Now the authorities say they have removed their ankle monitors and fled.
Two of the three Texas suspects accused of killing a Seattle woman are allegedly on the run after slipping out of their GPS ankle monitors on Christmas Day.
Court documents filed this week and obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram allege that Nina Marano, 50, and her 58-year-old wife Lisa Dykes both removed their GPS tracker monitors on Christmas Day.
The couple along with Charles Anthony Beltran, 32, were arrested in June for the murder of Marisela Botello-Valadez, 23, according to a statement from the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. The young Seattle woman had traveled to Texas to visit a friend. During that visit she took a Lyft from his apartment on October 4 to meet other friends at a nightclub. She never returned and missed her flight home.
Botello-Valadez's body was discovered months later, on March 24, in a densely wooded area in Wilmer, Texas, according to a statement from the Dallas Police. She had been stabbed to death.
It’s not clear what relationship the suspects may have had to Botello-Valadez but investigators allege that cell phone records placed the victim at a home with all three suspects on the day she was last known to be alive.
Marano and Dykes had posted $500,000 bonds for their release, and they were required to wear ankle monitors at all times. It wasn't until January 4th that officials learned that they had removed the devices on Christmas day and fled, local outlet WFAA reports.
Dykes' attorney Heath Harris told Fox News that the batteries in his client's GPS monitor died.
"I just hope that nothing's happened to them, you know? I hope that they're safe," the attorney 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."
The fact that the couple is unaccounted for is frustrating for Botello-Valadez's family.
"It's definitely not been easy--that's for sure," Dennesly Castillo told WFAA. "It's completely frustrating--we were expecting this after they posted bond, and here we are now."
Beltran remains in custody on a $500,000 bond.
While all three suspects were indicted on a murder charge each in June, none have yet to enter a plea in the case.
