SAN ANTONIO (TCD) – Police have arrested a third suspect on suspicion of abuse of a corpse after a pregnant teen and her boyfriend were found fatally shot inside a car just before the new year.
On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the San Antonio Police Department announced officers took Myrta Romanos into custody on charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and alter/destroy/conceal a human corpse. Last week, police arrested 19-year-old Christopher Preciado for capital murder and his father, 53-year-old Ramon Preciado, on a charge of abuse of a corpse in connection with the shooting deaths of 18-year-old Savanah Soto and 22-year-old Matthew Guerra.
San Antonio Police Sgt. Michelle Ramos said at a news briefing officials believe Romanos could be Christopher Preciado’s stepmother and Ramon Preciado’s wife.
Soto was reported missing to the Leon Valley Police Department on Dec. 23 after she failed to show up to an appointment to be induced to give birth. Soto and Guerra’s bodies were discovered Dec. 26 inside a vehicle near an apartment building on the 5900 block of Danny Kaye in San Antonio. Both victims had been shot in the head.
At the time, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said it was a “very, very perplexing crime scene.”
After the arrests of  Christopher Preciado and Ramon Preciado, Sgt. Washington Moscoso said Soto and Guerra were killed over a “narcotics-related deal that went bad” on the night of Dec. 21.
Surveillance video from the scene of the killings shows a dark Chevy Silverado pickup truck stop next to a gray Kia Optima that Guerra and Soto were believed to be traveling in. A male in a white tank top gets of the truck and speaks with the Kia’s driver. The man turns back to the truck, and someone hands him what appears to be a white towel. The man looks like he wipes something off, then gets back in his truck and drives away. The Kia departs in the opposite direction at the same time.
The arrest affidavit says Soto and Guerra were most likely already dead in the vehicle when it stopped next to the Silverado. Romanos allegedly hid the gun used in the killings.
Christopher Preciado reportedly told investigators that Soto and Guerra drove to his house to sell him marijuana, but then Guerra pointed a gun at him. According to the affidavit, Christopher Preciado said he “was able to manipulate the weapon resulting in the female being shot.”
He alleged Guerra pointed a gun at him again, so he “manipulated he weapon again resulting in the male victim being shot.”
Detectives said Christopher Preciado’s timeline of events “were inconsistent with evidence collected at the scene and from the victim’s recovered vehicle.”
Police do not believe there are any additional suspects.
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