Left to right: Nina Marano; Lisa Dykes; Marisela Botello-Valadez; and Charles Beltran. (Mug shot of Marano: Dallas County Jail; screen shots of Dykes and Beltran; image of Botello-Valadez: Dallas Police Department)
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.
