Prosecutors at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office dropped murder charges against two of the three suspects in the murder of a Seattle woman in October 2020.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the trial of Lisa Dykes — who, along with wife Nina Tamar Marano and Charles Anthony Beltran, was accused of killing 23-year-old Marisela Botello-Valadez — began last Tuesday.
On December 8, prosecutors dropped Marano and Beltran’s murder charges; however, the pair are still being charged with tampering with evidence and could face up to 20 years in prison.
“We have known for a while that the State would likely dismiss Marano’s murder case due to Beltran[’s] newest version of what happened. Beltran has lied too many times to be trusted,” said Heath Harris, Marano’s lawyer, in a text message to The Dallas Morning News.
District Attorney John Creuzot’s office declined to comment about the case when asked by the news outlet. It is currently unclear what prompted prosecutors to drop the murder charges against Marano and Beltran.
Beltran purportedly told authorities that he had brought Botello back to the residence he shared with Dykes and Marano in Mesquite. Beltran claimed he woke up to find Dykes attacking Botello with a knife and that Marano prevented him from intervening. Beltran allegedly fled, and upon returning to the residence, Dykes and Marano told him that everything had been taken care of.
Botello’s body was found off a road in southern Dallas County in March 2021.
After being arrested, Marano and Dykes were granted bail. They subsequently cut off their ankle monitors and fled the country. The pair was apprehended in Cambodia, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
More recently, the Dallas Police Department has been finding it challenging to keep crime under control amid an ongoing staffing shortage. There are only around 3,000 officers on staff, even though a previous City analysis recommended that Dallas needs about 4,000 to maintain public safety properly.
Downtown Dallas has been bearing the brunt of the shortage, logging considerably more criminal activity than Fort Worth’s city center. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security guards.
Murders are currently up in Dallas proper by 12.1% this year, with 231 recorded by authorities, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Creuzot has been accused of being soft on crime. The district attorney, alongside the county bail system, has been subject to extensive criticism for seemingly enabling violent criminals to commit further crimes by allowing them to bond out of jail.
