DALLAS — Two women who were accused of cutting off their ankle monitors and fleeing after they were charged in the Texas stabbing death of a Seattle woman have been arrested in Cambodia, authorities said.
Nina Marano, 50, and her wife, Lisa Dykes, 58, were arrested last week by Cambodian police with assistance from the FBI, The Dallas Morning News reported. They are among three people charged in the October 2020 death of Marisela Botello-Valadez, who was fatally stabbed while visiting a friend in Dallas.
Marano and Dykes were free on $500,000 bonds when they removed their GPS trackers on Christmas Day within moments of each other and at the same location, according to court documents.
Authorities have not said how they found the women in Cambodia.
Dykes’ lawyer, Heath Harris, told The Dallas Morning News that their fleeing wasn’t evidence of guilt. He said the women feared Charles Beltran, who was also charged in the death.
“I don’t believe they fled because they felt they were guilty of murder,” Harris said. “I believe they fled because they are concerned for their safety and they didn’t want to have to cooperate against the co-defendant.”
