Lisa Dykes found guilty of Marisela Botello’s murder (PHOTOS)

• Lisa Dykes found guilty.
• Marisela Botello was stabbed to death in Texas.
• Dykes faces life in prison.

Lisa Dykes was found guilty of the brutal stabbing murder of Marisela Botello in Dallas, Texas, three years ago.

The jury of twelve people entered Judge Nancy Mulder’s courtroom at the Sixth Criminal District Court in Dallas County at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 to give their verdict.

Judge Mulder received the decision from the jurors who deliberated for only two hours. The judge handed down a life sentence for the murder of Marisela Botello.

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«Ms. Dykes, I hope you find that you’ve been treated with a much greater amount of dignity and respect than you ever treated Marisela Botello-Valadez. May God have mercy on your soul,» Judge Mulder said, looking directly into the eyes of the accused.

After reading Lisa Dykes’ guilty verdict for the murder of Marisela Botello, the judge ordered another recess. After an hour her fate was decided.

The twelve members of the jury unanimously found Lisa Dykes, 60, guilty of the crimes of murder and tampering with the corpse of Marisela Botello, 23. She received another 20 years for the second offense.

Detectives from the Homicide Division of the Dallas Police Department (DPD) and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office were in charge of the investigation into Marisela Botello’s stabbing.

The prosecution presented 400 pieces of evidence

For five days, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office presented 400 pieces of evidence indicating Lisa Dykes murdered Marisela Botello in a fit of jealousy.

The crime occurred sometime between the night of Sunday the 4th or the early morning of Monday the 5th of October 2023 at Lisa Dykes’ home in Mesquite, Texas.

Charles Beltran, 34, Dykes’ lover, took Marisela Botello to the house after meeting her at a bar in downtown Dallas.

Also living in the house was Nina Marano, 53, who is legally married to Dykes and was also Charles Beltran’s lover.

Marisela Botello was missing for six months

According to the testimonies of Charles Beltran and Nina Marano, Lisa Dykes attacked Marisela Botello in a fit of anger when she saw her with Beltran.

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office presented forensic evidence taken from Charles Beltran’s room with traces of Marisela Botello’s blood.

After Lisa Dykes brutally stabbed Marisela Botello, the three disposed of her body in a wooded area.

Days later, the DPD issued an alert after Marisela Botello’s relatives reported her missing. The young woman lived in Seattle, Washington, and was in Dallas visiting a friend.

Dykes allegedly lied to the FBI about her lover’s whereabouts

FBI agents joined the investigation after Marisela Botello was officially declared missing.

The FBI, together with the DPD, identified Charles Beltran as the man who Marisela Botello was with when she left the bar in downtown Dallas.

A federal agent went to Charles Beltran’s house in Mesquite and spoke with Lisa Dykes, who did not open the door but spoke with him by phone.

Lisa Dykes told the FBI agent that she did not know anything about Charles Beltran because she had not seen him in weeks. However, the prosecution demonstrated at trial that she was still in communication with her lover.

Charles Beltran and Nino Marano will also face justice

During her court appearance Lisa Dykes denied knowing Marisela Botello and said she did stab her.

The prosecution showed that Lisa Dykes, using her cell phone, was in the area where Marisela Botello’s body was found six months after she disappeared.

According to Lisa Dykes, she was in that area several miles southeast of the Dallas, Texas metropolitan area, because she went to a courier company to pick up some medicine.

Now the only thing left is to wait for Judge Mulder to sentence Lisa Dykes in the killing of Marisela Botello. Charles Beltran and Nina Marano will have their trials next year.