Murder Charges Dropped Against Two Defendants in Texas Stabbing Case

Nina Marano and Charles Anthony Beltran, who fled to Cambodia after cutting off ankle monitors, still face evidence tampering charges in Marisela Botello-Valadez's death.

Texas prosecutors have dropped murder charges against two people, Nina Marano and Charles Anthony Beltran, in the 2020 fatal stabbing of Marisela Botello-Valadez.
Marano and Beltran, who were arrested in Cambodia after cutting off their ankle monitors and fleeing the country, still face charges of tampering with evidence connected to Botello-Valadez's death.
The trial of Lisa Dykes, the third defendant in the case, continues. Dykes is accused of stabbing Botello-Valadez.
Beltran's inconsistent account of events is believed to have influenced the decision to drop the murder charges against him and Marano.
The dismissal of charges comes amid renewed scrutiny of the use of ankle monitors in pre-trial release, following a separate incident where a man cut off his ankle monitor and went on a shooting spree, killing six people.