Christopher Preciado is on trial for capital murder in San Antonio, accused by police of killing a pregnant woman, her boyfriend, and their unborn child.
SAN ANTONIO — It was a devastating crime that gripped San Antonio during the 2023 holiday season: A pregnant woman days away from giving birth, her boyfriend and their unborn child were killed in what police describe as a drug deal.
Christopher Preciado is now on trial in the deaths of Savanah Soto, 18, Matthew Guerra, 22, and their child, a baby boy they named Fabian.
Soto was in final days of her pregnancy. A CLEAR Alert was issued on Christmas Day 2023 after she did not show up for her scheduled induction. Their bodies were found with bullet wounds on Dec. 26, 2023, in a car found at a northwest-side apartment complex.
Nine days later, Christopher Preciado and his father, Ramon Preciado were booked into the Bexar County jail for the grisly crime. Police say it was all over a marijuana deal.
Live-streaming is not allowed by the court in this trial but KENS 5 will be providing daily live updates each day. See updates from Day 4 of the trial below.
Live updates
5:48 p.m. The jury is dismissed. Court has adjourned for the week. The case will resume Monday, March 23, at 10:30 a.m.
5:42 p.m. The victims’ vehicle leaves the location toward Grissom and takes a left toward Bandera Road. On Dec. 21 at 11:44 p.m., Matthew was seen walking out a gate wearing black track suit. Rings on right hand. Jewelry on his neck. Matthew walks toward front parking area. Matthew walks back to gate as vehicle exits. Matthew walks back to his apartment wearing same clothing. Matthew walking in the direction of his apartment. Prosecutor: “Is this the last footage that we have of Matthew alive?” Detective: “Yes, ma’am.” “Did Matthew wear jewelry?” Yes. Describes flashy rings that grab attention. Red ruby. Diamonds. Appeared to be gold on his index finger. The prosecutor displays a close-up photo of flash rings on Matthew’s hand. The gold was still on his person. “What was not on him when his body was found?” The two that were not on his body were rings.
5:38 p.m. We’re watching a new video from Dec. 21, 2023, at 11:21 p.m. Two vehicles enter Valencia Lofts. A tan vehicle and a black Mercedes.
5:30 p.m. We’re watching video of the parked vehicle at the apartment complex. It was seen in various video clips captured by a surveillance camera that only records when movement is detected.
5:20 p.m. Video evidence showed the suspects’ vehicle had traveled to Valencia Lofts on Dec. 24, 2023, at about 7:16 p.m. which was after officers had been there when the couple were reported missing and before the detective’s body cam was recorded several days later.
5:16 p.m. Now we’re watching a video from Dec. 23 when officers came to the apartment after the couple were reported missing. Detective testifies about difference in how the apartment appears. The couch cushions are not disturbed. A tree or pot was standing normally. The air vent was in place. The detective observes that there are several fashion bags hanging on hooks on the wall. The closet does not appear to be disturbed.
5:10 p.m. Video continues. Now walking into a room that was intended to become the nursery for baby Fabian. Ultrasound pictures could be seen posted on the wall near a crib.
5:05 p.m. We’re starting to watch the detective’s body cam video from the apartment search at 6007 Grissom Road. Sofa cushions had been raised and moved. A tree or pot had been pushed over. An air vent had been removed from the upper part of a wall. In the master bedroom, the dressers are open like they had been gone through. On the bed appears to be personal effects. Bottom drawer of another dresser is open. Closet door is open.
5:02 p.m. Went to Valencia Lofts and nearby businesses looking for additional surveillance cameras. Performed search warrant on victims’ apartment looking for additional information to shed light on the case. Detective wore body cam during the search of the apartment.
5:00 p.m. The license plate could not be observed on the vehicle. We put out the video and description to the public to try to locate the suspect. That was released Dec. 28 at 3:30 p.m. The video got a lot of public attention. People started calling. Detective provided video to the PIO. None of the called-in tips led to the suspect.
4:55 p.m. Did the front of the apartment complex have video? Yes, it did. We watch the victims’ vehicle entering the apartment complex from the main drive. The video later shows the truck leaving the area at about 12:05 a.m. (The timestamp shown on the video is not accurate but is adjusted based on the detective’s testimony.)
4:49 p.m. Detective testifying – Video is playing. He testifies that the victims’ vehicle passed a security camera at the apartment building at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2023. We are watching the video continue to play for a few minutes. About 3 ½ minutes later, we see a vehicle driving with its lights off. The bed of the truck now appears flat instead of off-center.
4:43 p.m. Watching video: Another vehicle came. The victims’ vehicle approached with its lights out. The driver approaches. The lights are out. The vehicles were approaching each other. At the time didn’t know anything about them. Could not make out license plates. A towel was thrown or moved toward the male in the white tank top. He grabs it and wipes down the door. It didn’t appear to be Matthew because Matthew is tall and lanky. The victims’ car goes behind Building 33, and the truck follows. The bed of the truck is off-center and raised at an angle.
4:39 p.m. Now we’re looking at a dark parking lot video of the dark truck cruising the parking lot. Prosecutor: “Does anything stand out to you?” Detective: “They didn’t appear to know where to turn. The bed cover of the truck is off center, up at an angle.”
4:37 p.m. Prosecutor: “Did you start to have suspicions about whether this was self-inflicted?” Detective: Originally people believed Matthew did something to her, but based on my observations, somebody did something to them.
4:34 p.m. The vehicle was towed, and the bodies were taken to the Medical Examiner’s office, the detective testified. The ME goes through the victims’ pockets and didn’t find a wallet for either. No house keys. No phone for Matthew. Savannah did not have a purse. “Did you have knowledge of how Matthew made money?” Yes. “Did you find any evidence of that?” No. “What was that?” Narcotics. Savannah’s phone stayed in the car for processing.
4:30 p.m. Detective testifies about the car’s condition: The seat of the car appeared to have transfer. Apparent blood on the passenger side. The front passenger seat had blood on the right side, the blood streaked down. It’s consistent with someone being shot near the center console. The front right passenger seat had glass shards from when EMS broke the window. There appears to be fluid on the seat. There are personal effects on the floor. A picture of the back left passenger seat where Matthew was found shows apparent blood where he was resting. Smear to the center console, as well as a key fob for the vehicle. It solidified that Matthew was moved to the back seat and Savanah did not move. The driver’s seat had glass shards, sandals, blood on steering wheel and frame. The droplets on the seat appeared that they were transferred by the person who drove the car.
4:23 p.m. There is a horrid photo of Savanah with active sobbing from family members. The prosecutor is talking about the appearance of her exposed belly. One woman has left the room in tears. Others are silently crying. Savanah’s injuries were to the back right side of her head. Detective says he was looking for a bullet. It went into the ceiling. No other damage. No weapon was found in the car. “What else did you observe?” A necklace. A live round. A spent shell casing. A globe pendant on the necklace. Savannah’s phone.
4:20 p.m. We’re looking at a gruesome photo of Matthew deceased in the back seat. The detective is talking about what the evidence reveals about what might have happened to him. One family member stifled an audible gasp while others are wiping away tears. They are passing a box of tissue up and down the row.
4 p.m. There are blood smears on the inside of the driver’s door, front, left side, which is further indication that someone was still bleeding when the door was opened.
3:54 p.m. The detective said that in the front passenger door, there was blood splattered along the inside of the door (the theory is that Matthew was shot while in the driver’s seat and his body was moved to the back seat). He says Savanah’s body does not appear to have been disturbed from the time she was killed to the time her body was found.
3:52 p.m. He also observed the seat where Matthew’s body was, which had blood smeared in such a way that it was the detective’s opinion that Matthew’s body had been moved by someone else.
3:50 p.m. The driver’s seat did not appear to have a lot of blood on it, it appeared to be smeared. There were droplets of blood on the car door frame, which indicated that someone was bleeding as the car door was opened.
3:47 p.m. He observed Matthew’s body was hunched over and he had been shot in the head. The detective repeats that there is indications he was killed with a “contact shot.”
3:43 p.m. Once the warrant arrived allowing police to search the vehicle, the detective made further observations about the bodies. He says he was looking for any signs of a struggle or any kind of weapon in the car. He looked for phones, money, jewelry, etc. He found Savanah’s phone near her feet.
3:41 p.m. Photos are shown that appear to show blood inside the wheel well.
3:38 p.m. “She’s making herself a witness”: A defense attorney objects to the prosecutors question, which she alleged was given in narrative form, rather than in the form of a question. The prosecutor rephrases her question.
3:35 p.m. Det. Goodwin also observed blood had dripped out of the interior and onto the exterior, including the tire. There was blood in the wheel well, which Goodwin says indicates that the car had been driven after the blood spilled to the outside of the car. (police have alleged the suspect drove the car to the Danny Kaye location from wherever the couple had been shot)
3:32 p.m. When he arrived on scene, he found saw their bodies covered in tarp. He made some observations, including that Savanah appeared to have been shot in the side of the head. Matthew had an apparent gunshot wound to the right side of his head. There was a black ring, which indicates a contact shot.
3:25 p.m. Det. Goodwin was dispatched to the apartment at Danny Kaye, where the KIA was with the bodies of Savanah and Matthew were found. That was on Dec. 26, 2023.
3:20 p.m. Court is back in session with the next witness, SAPD Homicide Det. Jeremy Goodwin. He was the lead detective on these murders. He was briefly on the stand this morning talking about his involvement in doing a cheek swab for DNA on Christopher Preciado.
3 p.m. The witness is excused and the jury is given a brief recess.
2:56 p.m. The witness moves on to swabs from the carseat that was found on top of Savanah’s body inside the KIA. The blood from that carseat was a match for Matthew Guerra.
2:40 p.m. The witness is talking about the gun that was found in the Preciado home. The DNA swab was inconclusive. The witness said multiple people appear to have handled the item and some of them are related (parent/child) and their DNA samples could have mixed.
2:30 p.m. The prosecution is asking about the bloody cash that was found near the Preciado home by a neighbor who lives behind the Preciados. The blood from the bills was a match for Matthew Guerra.
2:25 p.m. The court is being shown photos of the KIA’s tires, which had blood splatters on them. The blood from the tires was a match to Matthew Guerra.
2:10 p.m. More swab samples from the KIA are being shown, some of which had a match to Matthew Guerra, but no matches with Christopher Preciado.
2 p.m. Some sandals were shown in court that were recovered from the KIA where the bodies were found. A DNA match was found with Matthew Guerra.
1:55 p.m. Robert Sailors with the Bexar County Criminal Investigations Laboratory
1:50 p.m. During the lunch break, our KENS 5 crew observed a process server looking for Ramon Preciado. The process server said Preciado was being sued and handed over papers. KENS 5 is looking into details of the possible lawsuit.
1 p.m. Court takes a lunch break.
12:45 p.m. More swab samples are being shown from a bullet with blood on it, a shell casing and gold chain bracelet. The DNA matched Matthew Guerra on those items.
12:30 p.m. Sailors says there are various factors that affect whether a DNA sample is able to be interpreted. Some of the samples have a low level of donor DNA, and they could not identify who it was from.
12:20 p.m. The witness says swabs collected from the backside of the front drivers seat of the car was also a match for Matthew.
12:07 p.m. The witness says Matthew’s blood was found on the gear shift of the car.
12:03 p.m. The witness says early in the investigation he was provided with DNA samples from Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra to compare against. Later, he was provided samples of DNA from Christopher Preciado, Ramon Preciado, and Myrta Romanos.
12:00 p.m. Some of the swabs did not seem to indicate blood. So they might not be tested for possible blood, but they will be sent to another lab for further testing. Two of the pieces of evidence being shown right now are in that category.
11:54 a.m. The witness and prosecutor are going through each envelope of evidence that he analyzed for his report on this crime.
11:45 a.m. The prosecutor is showing various test samples from within the KIA where the bodies were found, i.e the gear shift, steering wheel, etc.
11:40 a.m. When it comes to a parent and child relationship, the child will have a 50/50 mix of his or her parent’s DNA. So the parent and child would still have a distinct DNA profile from each other.
11:35 a.m. The witness continues to explain the “random match” probability of DNA is pretty accurate since its a low probability someone else would have your DNA profile. This is all to explain that if a match is found, it is probably pretty accurate and extremely rare to get it wrong.
11:25 a.m. The witness explains the process of DNA evidence and says that everyone is unique and the DNA profile can be used to say if you are a contributor of material at the scene.
11:15 a.m. The next witness is Robert Sailors with the Bexar County Criminal Investigations Laboratory.
11 a.m. Court takes a short break.
10:55 a.m. The witness says the extraction of the data took just a few days, but the analysis took longer due to scheduling, etc. The witness is excused.
10:50 a.m. The witness is passed to defense. The defense attorney asks who the truck is registered to. The witness does not know, he was simply assigned to look at data from that particular truck.
10:40 a.m. The truck is tracked a short time later, around 7:16 p.m. at an apartment complex at 6007 Grissom Road, which is the apartment where Savanah and Matthew lived.
10:35 a.m. On Dec. 24, at 6:59 p.m., the truck was tracked to an apartment complex near Penn Oak and Loop 410.
10:30 a.m. Basically, after a long explanation, the witness says the pickup truck was tracked to the apartment complex where Savanah and Matthew’s bodies were eventually found. It was tracked to the complex in the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2023. Savanah and Matthew were last seen alive on Dec. 21. The truck was later tracked back to the Preciado home on Charlie Chan.
10:22 a.m. The data has some parts missing due to the logs being deleted, but the witness says they can piece together what happened during the gaps based on the time stamp.
10:15 a.m. The prosecutor is displaying the report for the jury to see. The report is a list of “track logs” with times and locations where the truck traveled.
10:12 a.m. He says he got GPS data from both BERLA and the GMC Onstar device that all GMC cars come with.
10:10 a.m. The witness wrote a report on the 2015 Chevy Silverado, which is Ramon Preciado’s truck. At that point, police believed the truck was involved in the attempt to hide the bodies of Savanah and Matthew.
10 a.m. The next witness is a digital forensics specialist from SAPD, Guido Locati. He has experience getting digital evidence from cars, drones and computers. He talks about a company, BERLA, that has a way to get GPS data from a car’s radio.
9:57 a.m. Lead prosecutor Melissa Alban pulls out evidence of the cheek swab for Christopher Preciado. They do not open the evidence envelope yet. The prosecutor excuses the witness. (presumably to reference the cheek DNA swab later).
9:53 a.m. The state calls SAPD Detective Jeremy Goodwin, who was the lead detective on this murder case. He says he took cheek swabs for DNA to compare to possible DNA found at the crime scene.
9:50 a.m. The witness says she took the money to the property room and sealed it for evidence. She also returned to the location where the money was found near the Preciado house to look for further blood evidence but did not find anything. The witness was excused.
9:45 a.m. The state’s first witness is Melissa Hurst, a Crime Scene Investigator with SAPD. She was dispatched to 4830 West Avenue on Jan. 4, 2024 to collect bloody money in a ziploc bag (A witness testified yesterday to finding a bloody $100 bill and three $20 bills when she was walking her dog near the Preciado residence).
9:40 a.m. The judge expressed concerns for moving forward quickly with the case and testimony after some delays this week.
9:30 a.m. Day 4 of the Christopher Preciado trial begins in the 290th District Court overseen by Judge Jennifer Pena.
Background on the case
The families have been waiting for justice since Dec. 22, 2023. That was the day the victims were last seen alive in the 6000 block of Grissom Road in Leon Valley.
Initially, the incident was handled as a missing person case. Soto, who was one week overdue to give birth, failed to show up at the hospital for a planned delivery for Fabian. Family members said she and her partner vanished, sparking massive search effort that ended four days later. They had both been shot in the head.
At the time, San Antonio police said the car had been in the parking lot for days. They also said they thought the killing was due to an argument over a drug transaction. After an aggressive investigation, Preciado was arrested on Jan. 4, 2024. He has been in jail ever since.
At the outset, Preciado told police he and Guerra argued during their meeting and he accused Guerra of pulling a weapon on him. Police said his claim of self-defense had some inconsistencies and the physical evidence didn’t match the story being told.
In addition to capital murder, Preciado’s other charges are tampering with a corpse and abuse of a corpse without legal authority. There have been some complicating factors, in that there are others who have been charged in connection with aftermath of the deaths.
Christopher’s father, Ramon Preciado, and his stepmother, Myrta Romanos, were both charged with helping Christopher dispose of the bodies. The charges against the stepmom were dismissed in November, pending further investigation.
The charges against Ramon will go forward at another time. He is out of jail on bond while he awaits trial. In addition to the criminal case, a $1 million civil lawsuit has also been filed against the three accused of involvement in the deaths.
The complicated and tragic details will take a while to present. It’s said officials expect testimony will take more than one week before they get it into the hands of the jury.
The trial is unfolding in the 290th District Court, overseen by Judge Jennifer Pena.