The capital murder verdict followed a week of testimony and sharply different accounts of what happened during a drug-related meeting in December 2023.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — Christopher Preciado was convicted March 26 of capital murder in the killings of Savanah Soto, Matthew Guerra and their unborn baby after prosecutors told jurors the couple walked into a robbery and execution, while defense lawyers argued the state could not prove exactly what happened inside the vehicle.
The trial turned on competing readings of incomplete but powerful evidence. There was no eyewitness to the shooting and no video from inside the car, points the defense stressed repeatedly. But prosecutors answered with a broader timeline built from 36 witnesses, surveillance footage, autopsy findings, phone records and evidence that Guerra’s jewelry was traded away after the killings. Jurors sided with that larger story, delivering a unanimous verdict that automatically sent Preciado to prison for life without the possibility of parole.
Closing arguments showed how each side wanted the jury to view the gaps. Defense lawyer Joseph Esparza said, “We don’t know what exactly happened in the vehicle that night,” and argued the state had offered only a reconstruction. Co-counsel Monica Guerrero told jurors there was no eyewitness, no in-car video and no gunshot residue or DNA evidence presented that directly tied Preciado to the act of shooting. She also tried to frame the encounter as a dangerous drug deal involving Guerra, whom prosecutors acknowledged sold drugs. The state answered that the victims’ drug activity did not make the killings lawful. Prosecutor Melissa Alban told jurors, “That does not justify the execution that this man perpetrated on them.”
Ross Lewis gave the prosecution’s theory its simplest line: “Three deaths. $300.” With that, the state argued the case was robbery first and murder with concealment after. Trial testimony showed the victims were last heard from on Dec. 21, 2023. Soto, who was supposed to be induced the next day, never made it to the appointment. Her family reported her missing, and a CLEAR Alert went out on Dec. 25. The next day, police found Soto and Guerra dead in Guerra’s car behind a building at a Leon Valley apartment complex. Autopsy testimony said Guerra was shot at close range, and Soto was shot in the lower part of her head. Prosecutors said those wounds, along with the movement of the bodies, pointed away from accident and toward deliberate killing.
The state then filled in what it said happened between the shootings and the discovery of the car. According to the arrest affidavit and surveillance footage described at trial, a Chevrolet Silverado linked to the Preciado family followed the victims’ vehicle to Danny Kaye Drive shortly before midnight. Investigators said Ramon Preciado walked up to the car and that Romanos handed him a towel to wipe down the driver’s side door. Police said Christopher Preciado then moved the vehicle behind the building. Detectives also traced activity to Charlie Chan Drive, where they later found the Silverado. Ramon Preciado allegedly admitted helping his son dispose of the bodies. Romanos was later charged, though those charges were eventually dropped.
Another piece of the case came from a pawn shop. Jurors were shown Dec. 24 surveillance video of a man and woman entering the store. Prosecutors said one of the people in the video had exchanged Instagram messages with Preciado and traded car parts for rings and cash. Authorities later identified the rings as Guerra’s. That evidence gave prosecutors a way to argue motive and aftermath in one move, saying the robbery continued even after the killings. Christopher Preciado, by contrast, told detectives that Guerra had pointed a gun at him during a marijuana sale and that he “manipulated” the weapon, causing both victims to be shot. Police said the evidence did not support that version.
When the verdict came, the courtroom changed from argument to grief. Family members and friends gave victim impact statements immediately after sentencing. Soto’s grandmother told Preciado he would regret what he had done. A cousin said she and Soto had planned to raise their children together. Guerra’s father said his son had changed his life. Outside the courthouse, Guerra’s brother Sabian Hernandez said the family felt the victims had been vindicated. The state’s death penalty review committee had already decided not to seek execution, so the only sentence after conviction was life without parole.
Christopher Preciado has now asked for a new trial, and a hearing on that motion is scheduled for June 10. His father, Ramon Preciado, still faces a separate case tied to what investigators said happened after the killings.
Author note: Last updated April 19, 2026.