As Christopher Preciado stands trial for capital murder, San Antonio is absorbed in the tragic case of a couple and their unborn child killed in a drug deal.
SAN ANTONIO — A pregnant woman days away from giving birth, her boyfriend and their unborn child were killed in what police describe as a drug deal gone wrong in the holiday season of 2023. Now, the man accused of capital murder in their deaths is on trial for the crime that gripped San Antonio and beyond.
The families of Savanah Soto, 18, Matthew Guerra, 22, and their child, a baby boy they named Fabian, are hoping for justice in the trial against Christopher Preciado.
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.
Preciado’s trial began Tuesday, and jurors were shown graphic evidence and listened to emotional testimony from several witnesses. Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday.
Live-streaming is not allowed by the court in this trial but KENS 5 will be providing daily live updates each day. See updates of Day 2 of the trial below.
Summary of the day’s developments
The start of Wednesday’s trial proceedings, expected to begin at 10 a.m., was delayed due to procedural questions involving the judge and lawyers from both sides.
Later, in open court, those lawyers expressed concerns regarding safety and security issues related to attendees in the courtroom gallery. According to them, some had been taking pictures and potentially video of the proceedings and sharing them to social media.
Judge Jennifer Pena took time to remind those sitting in the gallery about the rules – including her stipulation that there be no livestreaming of the trial – and warned they could be thrown out of court. Another concern for legal teams is that Preciado may not receive a fair trial as a result of potential social media posts and subsequent posts.
Later, with the day’s proceedings underway, an evidence technician who processed the crime scene shared bloody photos and described how evidence connected to the murder was handled in December 2023. Family and friends of Soto and Guerra, who filled two rows in the courtroom, were warned the material may be hard to see; Pena encouraged them to leave the room if it would be difficult to witness.
The evidence that was shown included photos of the bloody bodies of the young couple that had been abandoned in their car before they were found. Some of the images showed spent shell casings, a live bullet and personal property—including jewelry, slippers, a car fob and a car seat that their unborn baby, Fabian, would never occupy.
Prosecutors said Preciado shot both of the victims in the hid then concealed their car to hide the evidence.
Loved ones of the victims largely maintained their composure, although some had to leave the courtroom while the images were being shown.
Later, Crystina Vachon, the quality assurance manager and technical leader of gunshot residue at the Bexar County Crime Lab, took the stand to discuss firearms evidence at the scene of the crime. She showed jurors an oversized model of a bullet to explain what happens when the trigger is pulled on a firearm in order to share the kind of evidence that can be left behind after a shooting.
“What I’m looking for whenever I’m looking for primary gunshot residue are components of the primer cap here,” Vachon said. “It traditionally contains the elements lead, barium and antimony. Those are evaporated from that explosion and they will condense back together to form particles that have a specific shape and size.”
Vachon said the science she uses is nothing at all like what’s seen on TV crime shows. Because the two victims were locked in a car that hadn’t been tampered with for several days, it wasn’t surprising that gunshot residue remained in the vehicle and on both victims—although not enough was found on the bodies to conclusively say if they had handled or fired a gun.
Live Updates:
6 p.m. Trial adjourns for the day.
5:22 p.m. An SAPD officer is discussing his qualifications as a forensic examiner, including extracting and analyzing cell phone data. He says he’s able to extract all kinds of information, including videos, pictures, in-app messages and texts.
4:40 p.m. With the jury out of the room, defense attorney Monica Guerrero told the judge she wanted to raise questions about the qualifications of the state’s next witness. The detective is ready to testify, but there’s a question about one of his certifications.
4:20 p.m. Jury is shown body camera video of when the officers were seizing the truck and an interaction with the Preciado family.
4:13 p.m. At some point, Ramon Preciado, Myrta Ramonas and Christopher Preciado all came out of the house. Detective Rey confirms the identity of Christopher in the courtroom. The truck did get seized eventually under that warrant.
4:05 p.m. He and another detective obtained a warrant to seize the truck seen in both locations. They parked nearby to stake out the truck for about an hour. They saw Myrta Ramonas come out and take out the trash and check the mail. A patrol officer joined them as they waited for someone to get in the truck and attempt to get away. They waited for a tow truck.
4:01 p.m. The jury is now being shown video of the truck in question from Danny Kaye. It has four doors and had distinctive silver running boards. They said the truck in the two videos matched in every way except the flatbed truck cover had been removed in the Danny Kaye video.
3:58 p.m. The truck seen on Google Maps from the Charlie Chan address from Savanah’s phone matched the truck seen in surveillance video from the Danny Kaye location. The truck’s owner was identified as Ramon Preciado. Preciado’s description also matched the description of the man seen in surveillance video on Danny Kaye.
3:56 p.m. On Jan. 3, Detective Rey said information from Savanah’s phone showed that her phone was in the area of Charlie Chan Drive, a few blocks away from Danny Kaye, for a few minutes before ending up on Danny Kaye. So detectives determined that the Charlie Chan location was where the alleged drug deal took place before the bodies were dumped elsewhere.
3:55 p.m. Detective Rey stayed on the scene until after the bodies were removed from the vehicle and taken away by the medical examiner. The vehicle was impounded to the SAPD facility.
3:50 p.m. He said it was obvious there were two deceased people inside the car. He said there was no need for the onlookers to be crowding around officers and filming them when they were trying to do their jobs. The families of both victims were on scene and he knew it was going to be extremely emotional for them to see their loved ones taken out of the car.
3:45 p.m. Rey describes that when he got on the scene, there were already multiple officers from multiple departments there. He said there many onlookers crowded around the area where the car had been left.
3:41 p.m. Rey was called to the crime scene on Danny Kaye when the vehicle with Savanah and Matthew’s bodies were found.
3:37 p.m. The next witness is Detective Brian Rey from SAPD. He has been with the department for 22 years and had previously served as a special agent in the Air Force Reserves and the Colorado Springs Police Dept.
3:35 p.m. Prosecution is further clarifying whether environmental factors can affect if GSR stays on an inanimate object. The witness is then excused.
3:33 p.m. The defense clarifies that the gunshot residue found is inconclusive to determine if the person fired a gun themselves. The defense passed the witness back to prosecution.
3:30 p.m. Witness is passed to the defense.
3:25 p.m. Particles of GSR were found on the rear driver’s seat and front driver’s seat. The witness could conclusively determine how close the seats were to the firing of a weapon.
3:22 p.m. Bachon says she found microscopic GSR particles on Savanah Soto’s right hand and one GSR particle on her left hand. Bachon says it is not conclusive enough to determine if Savanah fired a gun.
3:20 p.m. The witness says she cannot conclude from those results whether Matthew discharged the weapon himself or if he was simply in close proximity to a discharged weapon (i.e. fired by someone else).
3:18 p.m. The witness confirms that GSR was found on Matthew Guerra’s hands.
3:17 p.m. The witness continues to confirm various pieces of evidences, mostly swab samples, and their numerical labels.
3:12 p.m. Bachon says items of evidence are held in a location until such time as they are tested. There is a “chain of custody” procedure to determine who had possession of the evidence along the way. When Bachon receives the samples, they are sealed, which is required for them to be submitted to the lab.
3:10 p.m. The witness says that the explosion of these gases will be evident if the gun is pressed against a surface.
3:07 p.m. The witness says the particles are transient and do not bond with surfaces, so they can get lost easily. They also are variable depending on the type of gun or type of ammunition.
3:05 p.m. The testing is such that there only needs to be one particle of GSR to consider the test positive and move on to other samples.
3:03 p.m. She says that gunshot residue stays on a person’s hands for about 4-6 hours after the shooting. However, if someone is shot and killed and does not move, then gunshot residue (GSR) would still be on their skin. (this is referring to the fact that Savanah’s and Matthew’s bodies were not found until four days after they were killed).
3 p.m. Bachon explains the science of gunshot residue and how a bullet leaves a gun. She looks for components such as lead, barium and antimony. She says particles have a specific shape and size.
2:55 p.m. The next witness called is Crystina Bachon with Bexar County crime laboratory.
2:35 p.m. The witness is excused. Jury is also excused for a short break.
2:33 p.m. The witness is passed back to the prosecution. The prosecution wants to further clarify how the items that were possibly wet with blood could be dusted for fingerprints. The witness says he does not remember if they got any prints off of wet surfaces. He says materials like carpet cannot hold a fingerprint.
2:32 p.m. The defense is asking questions about the process of the evidence collection, including dusting for fingerprints. (This was a point made by the defense in the opening arguments. The defense alleges that no fingerprints were found tying Christopher Preciado to the crime.)
2:30 p.m. Witness is passed to the defense.
2:20 p.m. The witness continues to confirm various pieces of evidence from the vehicle, including shell casings, swab samples and bullet fragments. Items are being entered in the official record with numbers.
2:10 p.m. Much of this evidence was collected after the car was towed to 442 9th Street, which is an SAPD property impound facility where investigators have the ability to process large physical evidence like a vehicle. It is fenced in and locked, so allows investigators to work on forensics without interference from the public.
See photo of 442 9th Street below:
1:57 p.m. Other items from inside the vehicle included a cell phone, a tray for breaking up marijuana, and a “rolling tray.” Swabs were collected from all of the items.
1:50 p.m. The witness says the photos show blood was apparently all over the floor of the vehicle. A photos of a gold chain pendant and a globe that were found on the floor of car are shown.
1:40 p.m. The witness is confirming more evidence, including swabs of blood from the door and exterior door handle and interior gear shift.
1:30 p.m. The witness explains the process of evidence collection. The evidence is packaged up to be processed later, someone else would test it. It is packaged, sealed and placed in a secure property locker. SAPD collects all of the evidence and takes to a property room to secure the chain of custody. The evidence is marked with bar codes throughout.
1:25 p.m. The prosecutor asked the witness if it is common to find fingerprints on a surface. He said it was common to find fingerprints on surfaces, however, according to his report, there were no fingerprints found.
1:23 p.m. The witness says he was there when the bodies were removed. Ahead of that, he took photos and performed a gunshot residue test on their hands. He also brushed the area for finger prints.
1:20 p.m. The jury and court are now being shown crime scene photos of Matthew Guerra. His legs were found over the center console and his head was on the rear floor area of the driver’s side.
1:15 p.m. The jury and court are being shown crime scene photos of Savanah’s body. Her body was found in the front passenger seat with a carseat over her stomach.
1:10 p.m. The witness said a yellow tarp was placed over the bodies, which is normal procedure for a fatal incident. Photos are shown of blood and bullet defects within the car. There is apparent blood on the wheel, and on the hubcap of the driver’s side tire.
1:07 p.m. Rodriguez said when he arrived, the front windows had been smashed (this was by the EMTs who were called to confirm their deaths). A search warrant was obtained and the car doors were opened.
1 p.m. Testimony continues with the first witness of the day, Ryan Rodriguez. He is with Texas State University now, but previously was an SAPD crime scene investigator. He went to the Danny Kaye location where Savanah and Matthew’s bodies were found in Dec 2023. His duty was to document the crime scene and photograph and collect forensice evidence.
11:30 a.m. Court adjourns for a lunch break.
11:15 a.m. As the laywers and judge continue to meet in private, it is clear in the courtroom that security remains strong in this high-profile trial.
10:50 a.m. The lawyers and judge have left the courtroom for some type of consultation. Testimony has still not begun.
10:37 a.m. The prosecutor tells the victims’ family members that the first witness is a crime scene technician who will be presenting graphic evidence. She says she wanted them to be prepared for the difficult testimony.
10:30 a.m. Court proceedings are slightly delayed as the judge reminds the gallery attendants of conduct expected in the courtroom. The prosecutor agrees that she does not want conduct issues in the gallery to be used as a basis for an appeal later on.
10 a.m. Testimony continues in trial of Christopher Preciado.
About 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.