Savannah Soto's family gathered to mourn and honor her memory, as the 18-year-old and her unborn child, who she was due to give birth to shortly before Christmas, were laid to rest in a somber funeral yesterday. The service took place at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and followed a heart-rendering viewing filled with "bittersweet emotions," as reported by Fox San Antonio. Rachel Soto, Savannah's grandmother, conveyed the depth of their loss, saying, "It's been real but not really until I saw her today now, I know she’s no longer going to be with us, she’ll be in a better place, and she will be missed very, very dearly."
Tragedy beset the Soto family when Savannah and her boyfriend, Matthew Guerra, were found dead on December 26 in what was uncovered as a botched drug deal gone fatally wrong after days of their family reporting them missing, the investigation led by San Antonio police accused 19-year-old Christopher Preciado of the killing and his parents of aiding in the aftermath, according to KSAT.
During this period of grief, the family's pursuit for justice persists, amid revelations that surveillance video footage was crucial in tracking down the suspects. As Rachel Soto lamented to KSAT, "There is no moving forward." The accused Christopher Preciado is scheduled for a pre-hearing on February 5, his father Ramon Preciado on February 6, and Myrta Romanos, who allegedly owned the murder weapon, is due in court on earlier this month, according to Bexar County Court Records.
The arrests of the three individuals connected to the case may offer a semblance of progress toward justice, even as the Soto family continues to confront the painful reality of a future torn away, court records identify Christopher Preciado as the alleged gunman and his parents, Ramon Preciado and Myrta Romanos, as accomplices to the crime. In a statement brimming with grief and resolve, Rachel Soto told Fox San Antonio, "I hope they give them what they deserve, maybe life in prison for all that they did to her."
