Dallas jury takes less than an hour to issue Lisa Dykes life sentence for murder
DALLAS - Lisa Dykes, 60, stared straight ahead late Wednesday afternoon, after a jury issued a life sentence penalty for the murder of a woman visiting Dallas for the first time.
Dykes was convicted of killing Marisela Botello, 23. In 2020, Botello disappeared after a night in Deep Ellum. She was visiting from Seattle. Her remains were found a year later in a field in southeast Dallas County.
The now convicted killer, along with her wife Nina Merano, along with their shared boyfriend Charles Beltran were all arrested in connection with the Botello killing. During the seven day trial for Dykes, prosecutors presented Beltran as a witness against Dykes. Murder charges against him and Merano were dismissed. Prosecutors called the killing an act of jealous rage. Beltran testified that he brought Botello home after a night in Deep Ellum, and awoke to find her under attack by Dykes.
Dykes took the stand in her own defense on Tuesday, She denied ever seeing Botello in her home or killing the young woman. "She was the only person with motive to kill Marisela on October 5," prosecutor Zack Brown told jurors during closing arguments.
It took jurors just 90 minutes of deliberation to return a unanimous guilty verdict, and less than an hour to issue a life sentence for the killing. Judge Nancy Mulder provided a direct message to Dykes after the life sentence decision, "God have mercy on your soul."
