Christopher Preciado and Ramon Preciado mug shots, Matthew Guerra and Savanah Nicole Soto (SAPD)
A father-son duo in Texas have been arrested in connection with the slaying of Savanah Nicole Soto, the pregnant 18-year-old who was reported missing last month when she failed to show up at the hospital to be induced and was later found dead in a car alongside her boyfriend, 22-year-old Matthew Guerra.
Christopher Preciado, 19, has been charged with capital murder while his father, 53-year-old Ramon Preciado, was charged with abuse of a corpse in the couple’s executions, authorities announced.
“Christopher did the killings,” SAPD Sgt. Washington Moscoso said during a Wednesday evening press briefing. “His father helped him try to hide the car and victims.”
The San Antonio Police Department had previously released surveillance footage showing two “persons of interest” in the case, now believed to be Christopher and Ramon Preciado. In the footage, Christopher Preciado appears to be driving the couple’s gray Kia sedan when he briefly meets his father, who is allegedly driving a dark-colored Chevy Silverado, in a parking lot “nearby” to where Soto and Guerra’s bodies were found on Dec. 26 with gunshot wounds to the head.
Moscoso told reporters that the recovery of Soto’s cellphone from the scene was a key piece of evidence leading to the arrests.
“That was handed over to our technology team who was able to download some information on there, with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service,” he said. “That information was given to our detectives earlier today. With that information, detectives were able to find a possible location of where the suspect vehicle that was seen on the surveillance video might be. They made that location and, sure enough, the vehicle was there.”
After surveilling the Chevy Silverado for a short while, Moscoso said that detectives were able to determine which house it belonged to and then “went up and knocked on the door.” Moscoso said Ramon Preciado opened the door and that “he knew why the police were there.” His son was also in the home and they were both brought to the station to be interrogated.
According to probable cause affidavits obtained by San Antonio Express-News, the murders were the result of a botched drug deal wherein Guerra was allegedly supposed to sell marijuana to Christopher Preciado. It was not immediately clear whether Christopher Preciado knew Soto or Guerra prior to the meeting, which took place just before midnight on Dec. 21.
Guerra’s family reportedly confirmed to police that he sold drugs, typically posting pictures of his illegal products on social media.
“It was stated that people wanted to rob the boyfriend, and it was stated that he had been shot at before,” police wrote in the affidavit.
In an interview with police, Christopher Preciado reportedly said that Soto and Guerra drove to his home to sell him marijuana. However, Christopher Preciado claimed that when they arrived, Guerra pulled a gun on him. Christopher Preciado reportedly told police that he and Guerra were wrestling over the firearm when Christopher Preciado somehow “manipulated the gun in such a manner as to shoot both of the victims in the head.”
But police reportedly wrote that the suspect’s story “was inconsistent with the evidence collected at the scene and from the victim’s vehicle.”
The affidavit also noted that Soto had been placed in the front passenger seat of the vehicle while Guerra’s body had been placed in the back seat.
Just before Moscoso’s press briefing, Christopher and Ramon Preciado were escorted to police vehicles in the SAPD parking garage. As he was being placed into the car, Ramon Preciado responded to a reporter’s question about whether he regretted his role in Soto and Guerra’s deaths by denying having any involvement.
“Aren’t you sorry for lying about what you’re saying? You don’t even know what’s going on,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “You just make stuff up like always.”
Christopher Preciado remained silent during his perp walk.
Moscoso also emphasized that additional charges are likely to be filed against both of the suspects, including possible charges in connection with the death of the couple’s unborn child.
Soto was last seen alive on Dec. 21 at the apartment complex where she and Guerra both lived. She had been scheduled to go to the hospital the following evening with her mother to be induced but never made it to the appointment. Her family then reported her missing and a CLEAR alert was issued.
Soto and Guerra’s bodies were found in the vehicle located in the 5900 block of Danny Kaye Drive on Tuesday, with police saying that the car appeared to have been at that location for several days.
The Bexar County medical examiner determined that the manner of death for both victims was homicide and the cause of death for both was a gunshot wound to the head.
Police said they still believe the victims were killed at a different location before being dumped in the car and left where they were later discovered.
Christopher Preciado is currently being held on $1 million bond at the Bexar County Jail. His father’s bond was set at $100,000.
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