One person was arrested and authorities are searching for two others in the death of a Seattle woman, who police say was murdered after she went missing in Deep Ellum in October.
The family of Marisela Botello Valadez said the 23-year-old was last seen leaving a Deep Ellum bar early on Oct. 5.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner identified Botello's body Thursday — a day after Dallas County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of human remains found in a wooded area near East Belt Line and Post Oak roads in Wilmer.
Botello's aunt told NBC 5 in October that Botello was visiting Dallas from Seattle. According to the aunt, Botello had gone to Deep Ellum alone on the last night of her stay.
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Her aunt said Botello's belongings were left behind at the house where she'd stayed and she missed a return flight home to Seattle.
The person Botello had flown to visit reported last seeing her when she took a Lyft from his apartment late on Oct. 4, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
With the help of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, police arrested Nina Marano, 49, in Miami in connection to Botello's murder. Marano is being held in a Miami Dade County jail.
Two other people, 31-year-old Charles Beltran, who police sought for questioning in October, and 57-year-old Lisa Dykes, who is also known as Lisa Beltran, are wanted in Botello's slaying, Dallas police said.
Cell phone analysis showed placed Botello at the Mesquite home of Dykes and Beltran on the last day she was known to be alive, according to the affidavit.
Phone records also showed Dykes and Marano traveling south of Dallas, near Hutchins, to a densely wooded area near a concrete plant. When officials searched their residence, they found streaks of brown and red on the carpet, which had been cleaned. An analysis of DNA found on one of the carpets matched Botello's blood, according to the affidavit.
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In December, New York State Police searched a black 2014 Audi that had previously been registered to Dykes and Beltran and had been transported to the state. They also found concrete material that matched the type and color that was being used at the concrete plant, where Dykes and Marano are thought to have traveled, the affidavit stated. A hair sample found in the car is being analyzed.
All three suspects have refused to speak with detectives and have "shown a pattern of avoidance and attempted concealment of evidence," according to the police document, and have each left their jobs and moved out of their homes in Texas and Pennsylvania since Botello's disappearance, according to the affidavit.
Those who helped search for Botello during the early weeks of her disappearance are heartbroken. Hilda Duarte with LULAC said he’d held out hope until the last minute.
"We made 2,000 flyers every weekend and we were distributing them every weekend in hopes that somebody would recognize her," said Duarte. "When I found out I was feeling very low. Very disgusted that they didn’t find her alive, but at the same time happy for the family that they can have a decent burial for Marisela."
Anyone with information regarding Beltran or Dykes is asked to call 911. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Dallas police Det. Ramirez at 214-671-3668 or christine.ramirez@dallascityhall.com and reference case No. 177834-2020.
Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment in the case. Crime Stoppers' number is 214-373-8477.
