Marisela Botello murder trial: Suspect Lisa Dykes denies stabbing Seattle woman

Accused killer Lisa Dykes testifies in own defense

It was very different testimony from the defendant in a love triangle murder trial than the others who testified against her.

DALLAS - Lisa Dykes, the Dallas woman on trial for killing Seattle woman Marisela Botello, told the jury she never met the 23-year-old and didn't kill her.

On Tuesday afternoon, Dykes, who is charged with Botello's murder, waived her Fifth Amendment privilege and took questions from the prosecution and defense.

Prosecutors say Dykes stabbed Botello in a jealous rage in October 2020 because she found Botello in bed with her boyfriend, Charles Beltran.

On the stand, Dykes says Beltran, a rapper, was an investment and that the two were never intimate.

[ATTORNEY: "Was it a love interest thing?"]

"Chuck was and always continued to be a business interest that went sideways," she said.

Beltran told the jury a different story. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of tampering with evidence and testified for the prosecution last week, saying he, Dykes and her wife, Nina Marano, were involved in an intimate three-way relationship.

Marisela Botello Murder Trial: Beltran describes stabbing

Rapper Charles Beltran took the stand in the murder trial of Lisa Dykes. Prosecutors say Beltran, Dykes' boyfriend, was sleeping with Marisela Botello when Dykes stabbed her in a jealous rage. He described the moment for prosecutors.

Dykes even bought Beltran a luxury car: a black Audi A3.

"I bought the car as an investment and a tax deduction basically for him and his career. I set up a company for him," Dykes testified.

Dykes’ testimony contradicts testimony from several people close to her and Beltran, who all say Dykes was open about being Beltran’s "sugar mama." Prosecutors point out that during cross-examination.

Dykes is accused of stabbing Botello in the trio's Mesquite home in the early morning hours of October 5, 2020.

Botello, who was visiting from Seattle, met Beltran outside a bar in Deep Ellum.

Dykes denied stabbing Botello, saying she did not come in contact with the 23-year-old and wasn't aware of any issues until the FBI called her. The murder suspect claimed she wasn't even home at the time of the stabbing.

"Did you go in that room and stab Marisela?" asked defense attorney Heath Harris.

"No," Dykes said.

"Did you struggle with Marisela?" Harris asked.

"No, absolutely not," Dykes said.

"Did you argue with Chuck about Marisela?" Harris asked.

"No," Dykes said.

"Had you ever met Marisela?" Harris asked.

Marisela Botello Murder Trial: Lisa Dykes takes stand

Defense attorney Heath Harris questioned murder suspect Lisa Dykes about the killing of 23-year-old Seattle woman Marisela Botello. Prosecutors say Dykes stabbed Botello in a jealous rage after catching her in bed with her boyfriend Charles Beltran. On the stand, Dykes denied ever stabbing Botello.

"No," Dykes maintained.

Crime scene investigators are unable to prove how and when Botello was killed because it took six months to discover her remains. However, her blood was found in Dykes’ home, according to a forensics expert.

Prosecutors say the day Botello disappeared, GPS cellphone data places Dykes near where Botello’s remains were eventually discovered in Hutchins.

Dykes claims she went with Marano, who is an attorney, to a FedEx distribution center in Hutchins that morning to try and locate some legal documents Marano needed.

The prosecution maintains the two women were instead dumping Botello's body in nearby Wilmer.

RAW: Lisa Dykes on the night of Marisela Botello's murder

Murder suspect Lisa Dykes describes what she knows about what happened on Oct. 5, 2020, the date of Marisela Botello's murder. Dykes denies knowing Botello and her boyfriend, Charles Beltran, were in her Mesquite home. Prosecutors say Dykes stabbed Botello in a jealous rage after seeing Beltran with her in bed.

[ATTORNEY: "Did you ever go to 3600 Post Oak and drop a body off?"]

"No, sir," she replied.

Dykes said the package wasn't there, so they went back home. She also said that Beltran was a violent person who used to beat his dog and carried a gun at all times, contradicting previous witnesses who described Beltran as someone who avoided conflict.

"He was a wolf in sheep's clothing," she said.

Still, Dykes testified she and Marano chose to take Beltran's last name when the two women got married.

"Beltran is an interesting name. It means ‘raven’ in Spanish," Dykes said.

READ MORE:

Marisela Botello Murder Trial: Day 5 Key Moments

Lisa Dykes and Nina Marano's escape to Cambodia was the focus of much of the testimony on Monday. Dykes is accused of murdering 23-year-old Marisela Botello, after allegedly finding her in bed with her boyfriend, Charles Beltran. Murder charges against Marano and Beltran have been dropped.

After Dykes was arrested, she and Marano cut off their ankle monitor and escaped to Cambodia. The suspect addressed the decision to cut off the ankle monitor.

"We cut the monitors off because we both felt very much persecuted in this case," Dykes said. "I did nothing but work and raise children all my life. Why would I even be suspected in this?"

In 2022, the FBI captured Dykes and Marano.

Last week, murder charges against Marano and Beltran were dismissed, leaving Dykes as the focus of the murder.

The prosecution will continue its cross-examination of Lisa Dykes on Wednesday.

Deep Ellum Crime and Public Safety