The San Antonio Police Department made a third arrest in the double murder case of Savanah Soto and her boyfriend Matthew Guerra, authorities said Wednesday. The couple, found deceased the day after Christmas, became the center of a shocking homicide investigation that gripped the city. According to Fox San Antonio, police are expected to reveal more at a 1:30 p.m. press conference.
Soto, who was pregnant and due to be induced the day after she went missing, and Guerra were found dead in a gray Kia Optima in an apartment complex parking lot. Police have charged 19-year-old Christopher Ray Preciado with capital murder, abuse of a corpse, and altering or destroying a human corpse. His father, Ramon Preciado, 53, was also charged with altering or destroying a human corpse for purportedly aiding his son yet after the crimes were committed.
Details unveiled by KSAT reveal a chilling narrative of the events that led to the young couple's death on December 21. Christopher Preciado allegedly shot Soto accidentally after an altercation with Guerra over a marijuana sale went south, and then turned the weapon on Guerra. SAPD deduced one of the victims’ cellphones found in the vehicle, which had searched the suspect's address prior to the discovery of the bodies, as a pivotal lead in the case. Surveillance footage corroborated the location of the Preciado's vehicle and led to surveilling their home just two blocks from the crime scene.
“San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday morning,” Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales expressed his intentions related to the case, stating, “Under Texas law, a person can be charged with capital murder when there is more than one victim in a murder and there is evidence to believe the defendant caused the death of the individuals,” according to a statement obtained by KSAT. He also mentioned the potential additional capital murder charge for the death of the unborn child, named Fabian in the affidavit.
The recent development in this tragic case offered some solace to the local community. With bonds set at $600,000 for the father, Ramon Preciado, and $2,000,000 for the son, Christopher Preciado, the judicial process is only just beginning for what's unfolded as a harrowing tale of a deal gone terribly wrong.
