Marisela Botello murder: Trial set to begin in case of Seattle woman killed after night in Deep Ellum
DALLAS - The first of three trials for the murder of a Seattle woman visiting Dallas is expected to start this week.
The trial comes more than three years after Marisela Botello's murder.
Botello was killed after leaving a Deep Ellum bar in Oct. 2020. Surveillance video showed Charles Beltran and the 23-year-old leaving together, but it was unclear what happened to Botello.
Dallas police identified Beltran as a person of interest.
Six months later, Botello's remains were found in a remote area of Dallas County.
Three roommates were charged with murder: Beltran, Nina Marano and her wife Lisa Dykes.
Charles Beltran (left), Nina Marano (center), Lisa Dykes (right)
This week, Dykes will be the first to stand trial.
Nina Marano was supposed to be the first to stand trial at the start of the year, but that was delayed after it was found that some evidence didn't get to defense attorneys.
The Dallas County DA's Office also had all three cases moved to a different judge.
"But it did take a very, very long time," said Dennesly Castillo, Botello's aunt.
For Botello's family members, some who plan to testify as character witnesses, there have been road blocks.
Initially, Dykes and Marano each posted their $500,000 bonds, but on Christmas morning in 2021, their ankle monitors were disabled and the couple was on the run.
Two months later, the FBI assisted law enforcement in Cambodia, 9,000 miles away, with taking the couple into custody.
[REPORTER: "You don't think they're remorseful at all?"]
"I don't think so at all," said Castillo. "There’s nothing that can be done, but hopefully, at least some peace of mind for my family."
A motive for Botello's death is unclear.
She was from Seattle visiting a friend in Dallas when she was murdered.
An arrest affidavit reads, "a search of Beltran's and Dykes' residence revealed that the carpet had been cleaned, but streaks of brown and red color, the appearance of blood, were underneath the carpet."
The blood matched Botello's.
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Marano's murder trial is scheduled for February. Beltran's is scheduled for April.