Marisela Botello murder trial: Lisa Dykes, Nina Marano's escape to Cambodia the focus of testimony

DALLAS - The trial of Lisa Dykes entered its second week on Monday with more testimony about the lies and deception surrounding Marisela Botello's disappearance and murder in Dallas. 

Botello, a 23-year-old woman who was visiting Dallas from Seattle to see a friend, disappeared after a night out in Deep Ellum in 2020.

She ended up going back to Dykes' Mesquite home with another defendant in the case – Charles Beltran.

Dykes also had a sexual relationship with Beltran and owned the home where they lived with the third defendant – her wife, Nina Marano.

Prosecutors said Dykes committed the murder in a jealous rage, and that her wife, Nina Marano and Beltran covered it up.

Beltran on the run

During Monday's testimony, Nicole Beauchamp told jurors she had a relationship with Beltran. They met in Miami, where Beauchamp lived in 2021.

At the time, Beltran called himself Antonio and said he had moved to South Florida from Pennsylvania.

In reality, Beltran was on the run while police searched for Botello.

Botello's body was found months after the murder in a remote area of Wilmer, south of Dallas.

"What was going through your mind at this point, now that you hear it wasn't just a missing girl. It was a murder, and they found her body?" prosecutors asked Beauchamp.

"I was in shock and I couldn't believe the person I spent time with was this person," she said.

Dykes, Marano Escape to Cambodia

Julian Lapeyre with the Dallas County Pre-trial Services Department also testified on Monday.

Lapeyre supervised the house arrest of Dykes and Marano when they were fitted for ankle monitors upon bonding out of the Dallas County Jail in the Spring of 2021.

Lapeyre said they followed the rules for months.

"They were very compliant, they were very responsive," she said.

But on Christmas morning, 2021, Lapeyre said that all changed.

"It appeared that both their devices were simultaneously disabled," said Lapeyre. "One device went offline at 7:28 and the other device went off at 7:32 a.m. on the 25th of December."

Due to the long holiday weekend, Lapeyre says the tampering with the devices was not noticed until December 27, two days later.

Within a few hours, a judge issued warrants for their arrests, but Dykes and Marano were already out of the country.

Airport records indicate they left the U.S. on Christmas Day.

"Pretty quickly we were able to establish that they flew out of DFW into Seoul, South Korea," said Taylor Page with FBI Dallas.

From there the couple headed 9,000 miles away to Cambodia in Southeast Asia.

FBI Tracks Down Dykes and Marano

Kathleen Nichols with the FBI said they were able to locate Dykes and Marano in a seaside town, outside of the capital, through various ATM transactions.

A taxi driver pointed out the house where they were living.

"I believe Nina was the first to come out and then Lisa came out of the house," said Nichols.

Pictures show what the women looked like upon their arret.

Cambodian National Police Officers located several cell phones and laptops inside the rented home.

Agent Nichols recalled her initial interaction with Dykes.

"I identified myself, told them I was with the FBI and that they were under arrest for murder in the State of Texas and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution," said Nichols. "Lisa looked at me and said, 'What jurisdiction do you have here?' I was taken aback by that comment."

Both women were initially taken to a hospital detention center, since both tested positive for COVID.

They were eventually transferred back to Texas.

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Heath Harris contended that Dykes fled the country because she didn't think she could get a fair trial in the U.S.

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• Marisela Botello murder trial: Jealousy over man led to deadly stabbing, prosecutors claim
• Marisela Botello murder: Trial set to begin in case of Seattle woman killed after night in Deep Ellum
• Marisela Botello case: Couple charged with murder caught in Cambodia after fleeing
• Marisela Botello case: Couple charged with murder flee while out on bond
• Third suspect arrested in Seattle woman's disappearance and death
• Murder case prompts FBI to conduct more searches in southern Dallas County
• Body of missing Seattle woman found in North Texas
• Person of interest sought in Seattle woman's disappearance after night out in Deep Ellum

Friend on Marisela Botello's Disappearance

The final witness of the day was Vanessa Pozos, Marisela Botello's friend from Seattle.

Pozos described her anxiety during the time Botello was missing in October 2020.

"It was really hard," she said. 

Pozos said she was messaging with Botello on the night she disappeared.

At first she didn't think anything when she stopped responding, then she got worried.

"Something's wrong. Like, I just knew something was wrong," she said.

Prosecutors told FOX 4 they hoped to rest their case against Dykes on Monday, but did not do so on Monday afternoon.

The defense is expected to call Dykes herself to the stand.

Murder Charges Dropped Against Charles Beltran, Nina Marano

The Dallas County court clerk confirmed to FOX 4 that murder charges against Beltran and Marano have been dropped as of Friday.

Marano's murder charge was also dismissed.

The dismissals come days after Beltran testified Friday against co-defendant Lisa Dykes.

Beltran said Dykes is the one who stabbed Botello to death, and that he and Marano had nothing to do with the murder.

Beltran and Marano still face felony tampering charges.