NATIONWIDE — The third suspect wanted for the murder of Marisela Botello Valadez was arrested in Utah. According to the Dallas Police Department, Charles Beltran was taken into custody without incident in West Jordan, roughly 1,200 miles from Dallas, and less than 30 miles from Salt Lake City.

What You Need To Know

  • Charles Beltran was arrested in Utah on charges of capital murder in the death of Marisela Botello Valadez, who was last seen October 5 in Dallas

  • Two other suspects, Lisa Jo Dykes and Nina Tamar Marano, were also arrested in connection with Valadez's death

  • Valadez's body was found near Wilmer, in a wooded area, by East Beltline and Post Oak roads on March 24

“The Dallas Police Department continues to pursue justice for the family of Marisela Botello Valadez,” said DPD in a press release. “We would like to thank our national partners for assisting us in making this arrest.”

Charged with capital murder, Beltran was arrested Friday, with the help of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Violent Fugitive Task Force, the Dallas Police Department, and the West Jordan Police Department. Officials say they received information on Beltran’s whereabouts that led to his arrest in Utah.

Beltran’s arrest comes just days after two women were arrested in connection to Valadez’s death. Lisa Jo Dykes, 57, was booked into the Orange County Jail on charges of capital murder on March 27, and 49-year-old Nina Tamar Marano was arrested in Miami for murder, and taken to the Miami-Dade County Jail on March 25. With little detail surrounding the arrests, court records show that both women are being held on fugitive warrants out of Texas.

As of Friday, it was unclear when Dykes and Marano would be extradited back to Texas. Marano waived her extradition hearing and isn’t expected to appear in court for another couple of weeks, per court records.  

Traveling from Seattle, Valadez made a trip to Dallas to visit a friend on October 2, and was last seen October 5. Surveillance video obtained by police showed that she was last seen leaving Select Bar in Deep Ellum with Beltran. After months of trying to locate her, Valadez’s body was found in a wooded area near Wilmer close to East Belt Line and Post Oak roads in Dallas County.

Details in an arrest affidavit placed Beltran, Valadez, Marano, and Dykes at a home in Mesquite shared by Beltran and Dykes on the day of her disappearance through cellphone records. During a search of the residence, red and brown stains found underneath the carpet cleaned to rid blood, matched Valadez’s DNA.

After Valadez’s disappearance, police said Beltran, Dykes, and Marano left their jobs and homes and refused to talk to authorities showing a “pattern of avoidance and attempted concealment of evidence.”