Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Law & Crime
Killer’s wife pleads guilty to helping hide body of young woman who had met wrong ‘boy toy’
By Alberto Luperon,
16 days ago
In a tangled criminal case, a Texas woman pleaded guilty to helping her murderer wife hide the body of a slain young woman, who had gotten entangled with the couple’s “boy toy.”
The wife, Nina Marano, 52, accepted the plea deal for tampering with evidence on Wednesday, Dallas County court records and documents show. She received eight years in prison with time credit for 771 days — roughly two years — she already served.
The aforementioned, self-professed boy toy Charles Beltran, 35, pleaded guilty on Friday to tampering with human remains and was sentenced to six years in prison, according to Dallas FOX affiliate KDFW.
Prosecutors in December 2023 dropped the murder charge against Marano and Beltran for allegedly killing Marisela Botello-Valadez, 23. Authorities pointed the finger squarely at Marano’s wife, Lisa Dykes, 61. Dykes, who jurors convicted in December, is serving a life sentence at the William P. Hobby Unit prison in the community of Marlin, Texas, and she will be eligible for parole in 2052.
Authorities put up Beltran as a key witness at trial. He claimed to have a sexual relationship with both Dykes and Marano, according to Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA. In testimony, Beltran asserted that Dykes began acting possessive of him, telling him he could not bring other women home.
But he broke that rule after a chance encounter with Botello-Valadez, a Seattle resident visiting Dallas. After drinks, they returned to the home he shared with the couple, he said.
There, he and Botello-Valadez had consensual sex in his room, he reportedly testified.
They went to sleep, and he woke up to find Dykes stabbing Botello-Valadez in a jealous rage. He tried to intervene, eventually pinning Dykes to a wall, but instead of calling 911, he told Dykes she would have to handle this, and he left, going about his day.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0