{"id":225516,"date":"2026-03-29T07:06:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T07:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/225516\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T07:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T07:06:36","slug":"victims-relatives-bexar-county-da-react-to-guilty-verdict-in-christopher-preciado-capital-murder-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/225516\/","title":{"rendered":"Victims\u2019 relatives, Bexar County DA react to guilty verdict in Christopher Preciado capital murder case"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEXAR COUNTY, Texas \u2013 A Bexar County jury returned its verdict in the capital murder trial of Christopher Preciado<\/a> on Thursday afternoon. <\/p>\n

Jurors found Preciado, 21, guilty on all three counts in the December 2023 capital murders of Matthew Guerra<\/a>, Savanah Soto<\/a> and their unborn child. The jury reached its collective decision after approximately one hour and 56 minutes of deliberations. <\/p>\n

Watch Thursday\u2019s verdict in the below video player. <\/p>\n

Preciado was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n

Victim impact statements <\/p>\n

Six people, who identified themselves as family and friends of Guerra and Soto, made their victim impact statements to Preciado directly on Thursday afternoon. <\/p>\n

One woman, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, identified herself as Soto\u2019s grandmother.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to regret every day of your life for what you did to my granddaughter,\u201d the woman said. \u201cThink about what you did.\u201d <\/p>\n

Another woman, who identified herself as a cousin of Soto, stood up in the gallery to speak. <\/p>\n

\u201cMe and my cousin (Soto) planned together to raise our children, and she did not get to do that with me because you took her from us,\u201d the second woman said. \u201cYou took something, and you have no remorse for any of us. Her mother (sitting) right here, and her father. They cannot talk, but I will. I will talk for my cousin and her boyfriend (Guerra) and their unborn son. They did not deserve what you\u2019ve done to them, but I am glad that they see you guilty.\u201d <\/p>\n

A man then shared a few, poignant words for Preciado. <\/p>\n

\u201cMatthew (Guerra) was my brother; he\u2019s my best friend,\u201d the man said. \u201cI just want to say you (Preciado) are a very stupid person. … I hope wherever you go, they know who you are and what you did and they treat you accordingly.\u201d <\/p>\n

A second man, who identified himself as Guerra\u2019s father, shared his statement with the court. <\/p>\n

\u201cHim (Guerra) being born changed my life in more ways than I can ever say,\u201d Guerra\u2019s father said. \u201cHe made me a better person. … The Bible speaks: \u2018The vengeance is His.\u2019 Your next stop is the penitentiary, and I believe with all my heart, that\u2019ll be your hell here on Earth before you go to hell for all eternity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Thursday\u2019s full victim impact statements in the below video player. <\/p>\n

Sabian Hernandez, Guerra\u2019s brother, spoke to KSAT in a brief interview outside the courtroom. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like Matthew (Guerra) and Savanah (Soto) have been vindicated,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cWe feel justice has been served for Matthew, Savanah and Fabian (their unborn child). Physically, I know they\u2019re not here with us today, but I know that they were in the courtroom with us.\u201d <\/p>\n

Interest in this case has extended well beyond San Antonio. According to Hernandez, people have sent well wishes to the victims\u2019 families from around the globe. <\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up today, and I saw (that) there\u2019s a Savanah Soto-Matthew Guerra case page (on social media) that everybody posted and commented on where they are in the world,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201c(Some users posted) from Australia, New Zealand, Colorado, England. To all of them, I just want to say thank you. My family really appreciates all the support that y\u2019all have shown us.\u201d <\/p>\n

DA\u2019s office reaction<\/p>\n

Shortly after Preciado\u2019s verdict and sentencing were determined, Bexar County co-prosecutor Melissa Alban spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know the families were anticipatory. This was a long time coming,\u201d Alban said. \u201cI\u2019m really grateful that we were able to do this for them and give them some closure.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alban said she couldn\u2019t comment on the future of Ramon Preciado\u2019s<\/a> case, Christopher\u2019s father, as well as whether or not the Bexar County District Attorney\u2019s Office will refile charges against Myrta Romanos<\/a>, Christopher\u2019s mother. <\/p>\n

In a Thursday news release, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales expressed his thanks to jurors for returning a guilty verdict. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe outcome of this case reflects a long and difficult journey for everyone involved, and we are deeply grateful to the jury for their role in achieving this conviction,\u201d Gonzales said in the release. \u201cWhile no sentence can undo the tragedy faced by the loved ones of Matthew and Savanah, it honors their memory and ensures that the defendant is held accountable for his actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both the prosecution and defense spent Thursday morning making their closing arguments to jurors. <\/p>\n

Watch Thursday\u2019s full closing arguments in the below video player. <\/p>\n

Jury selection first kicked off court proceedings<\/a> on March 16. Over the course of the next seven days in court, the state called 36 witnesses to the stand. <\/p>\n

Testimony concluded on Wednesday afternoon after the prosecution and defense rested their cases<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Judge Jennifer Pena presided over the trial in Bexar County\u2019s 290th Criminal District Court. <\/p>\n

Background<\/p>\n

Soto, who was expected to be induced to deliver her son, never showed up for her appointment on Dec. 22, 2023.<\/p>\n

Soto and her boyfriend, Guerra, were last heard from on Dec. 21, 2023, according to family and police statements.<\/p>\n

Soto\u2019s family soon reported her as a missing person. Authorities issued a statewide CLEAR Alert on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

One day later, on Dec. 26, 2023, police said Soto and Guerra were found dead in Guerra\u2019s vehicle at a Leon Valley apartment complex.<\/p>\n

Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra (KSAT 12 News)<\/p>\n

On Jan. 3, 2024, Christopher Preciado, who was 19 at the time, was arrested and charged with capital murder. His father, Ramon Preciado, was arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a human corpse, according to arrest records and police statements.<\/p>\n

Authorities later arrested Myrta Romanos, Christopher Preciado\u2019s mother, on allegations that she tried to help cover up the crime.<\/p>\n

Christopher Preciado, Myrta Romanos and Ramon Preciado (KSAT)<\/p>\n

Soto and Guerra\u2019s families said they did not know Christopher and Ramon Preciado. Police said the dispute that led to the killings began with a drug deal.<\/p>\n

According to an arrest affidavit, Christopher Preciado told police that Guerra pulled a gun on him and that he was able to \u201cmanipulate it.\u201d Soto and Guerra were shot during that sequence.<\/p>\n

In February 2025, Ramon Preciado was released from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center after his bond was reduced.<\/p>\n

Romanos was expected to go to trial in November 2025. However, after the state sought a reset that the court denied, prosecutors dismissed all charges against Romanos.<\/p>\n

The witness list for Christopher Preciado\u2019s trial included law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, an expert witness and family members from the Guerra and Soto families.<\/p>\n

The witness list also included Ramon Preciado and Romanos, but neither were asked to testify. <\/p>\n

More coverage of the Christopher Preciado capital murder trial on KSAT: <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEXAR COUNTY, Texas \u2013 A Bexar County jury returned its verdict in the capital murder trial of Christopher…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[698,12609,815,294,23540,23541,23542,82,84,83,23539],"class_list":["post-225516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-bexar-county","tag-christopher-preciado","tag-courts","tag-crime","tag-matthew-guerra","tag-myrta-romanos","tag-ramon-preciado","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-savanah-soto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}