A married lesbian who murdered the woman found in bed with a man with whom the bride and groom were in a menage a trois will go to prison after being convicted of murder.
Lisa Dykes, 60, was found guilty by a Texas jury of fatally stabbing Marisela Botello-Valadez. The murderer showed no emotion as the judge read the verdict aloud and she was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 20 years for tampering, according to KDFW TV.
Dykes killed Botello-Valadez in October 2020 after Dykes found the victim in bed with Charles Beltran. Beltran and Dykes had a three-way affair with Nina Marano, Dykes' wife.
Investigators say Marano then helped Dykes remove the victim.
The victim's remains were found in the woods near Wilmer, about 20 miles southeast of Dallas, in March 2021, nearly six months after she went missing.
Both Dykes and Marano fled the country after cutting their GPS monitors while waiting for a lead.
Lisa Dykes, 60, who cut off her ankle monitor last year and fled the country while awaiting trial, has been found guilty of murdering a 23-year-old tourist
Dykes was convicted by a jury on Wednesday of fatally stabbing Marisela Botello-Valadez (pictured) and of tampering with evidence after a seven-day trial
She showed no emotion as the judge read the verdict and she was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 20 years for tampering.
The jury convicted Dykes of murder and tampering with evidence after an hour and a half of deliberation.
“May God have mercy on your soul,” the judge said after reading the verdict.
Dykes' attorney, Heath Harris, said his client maintains her innocence and has already filed paperwork to appeal the verdict.
Dykes testified Tuesday and Wednesday that she did not know Botello-Valadez.
She said her cell phone pinged near the location where the victim's body was disposed of because she was picking up a package at a nearby FedEx distribution center.
Dykes also claimed that she had no relationship with Beltran, but that they were merely business partners.
She was accused of stabbing Botello-Valadez to death when she saw her in bed with Beltran after the pair met following a night out in Deep Ellum.
Her conviction comes days after prosecutors dropped murder charges against Beltran and Marano, whom they previously accused of killing Botello-Valadez. But the pair are still being tried on charges of tampering with evidence.
Prosecutors moved to dismiss the murder charge shortly after Beltran took the witness stand.
The 34-year-old testified last week that he lived with Marano and Dykes. He said he met Botello-Valadez at a nightclub and the two went to his house, where they had sex.
Beltran said he fell asleep and woke up screaming when Dykes stabbed Botello-Valadez.
The jury convicted Dykes of murder and tampering with evidence after an hour and a half of deliberation. She had stated on Tuesday and Wednesday that she did not know Botello-Valadez
Dykes killed Botello-Valadez in October 2020 after finding her in bed with Charles Beltran (left), who was her partner in a three-way relationship with Dykes' wife Nina Marano (right)
Under questioning by Harris, he acknowledged that he had initially lied to investigators about what happened.
The trio was arrested shortly after Botello-Valadez was reported missing.
A police statement said Botello-Valadez flew from Seattle to Dallas on October 2, 2020, to visit a friend. That friend said she left his apartment on October 4 to meet some friends at a nightclub, and a Lyft driver came to pick her up.
Botello-Valadez was last seen on video leaving the club with Beltran at 1:15 a.m.
She never returned to her friend's house and missed her flight back to Seattle.
The case attracted international attention last year when Dykes and Marano, 52, cut off their ankle monitors while out on $500,000 bonds.
They removed their GPS trackers on Christmas Day 2021, right after each other and at the same location. On Christmas Day the signal to both monitors was lost. Two days later, police emailed and texted the fugitives but received no response.
Then, ten days after the couple's GPS monitors stopped sending signals, authorities in Dallas County were finally notified of their fugitive status.
Officials blamed the delay on understaffing during the winter holidays.
Authorities said they eventually ended up in Cambodia, where they were arrested by local police with the help of the FBI.