The sentence followed a capital murder conviction in the deaths of Savanah Soto, Matthew Guerra and the couple’s unborn son.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In Texas, Christopher Preciado was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a Bexar County jury convicted him March 26 of capital murder in the 2023 killings of 18-year-old Savanah Soto, 22-year-old Matthew Guerra and Soto’s unborn baby, Fabian.

The verdict ended the main trial in a case that gripped San Antonio from the moment Soto missed the Dec. 22, 2023, appointment where she was supposed to be induced. Prosecutors said Preciado lured the couple into a drug-related meeting, killed them and then turned to family members to help move the bodies and hide the crime. The jury’s decision settled the central charge against him, but it did not end the wider case. His father still faces a related prosecution, and Preciado has already moved for a new trial.

Judge Jennifer Pena read the unanimous verdict shortly before 2:30 p.m. after jurors deliberated for one hour and 56 minutes in Bexar County’s 290th Criminal District Court. Because the conviction was for capital murder, the sentence was automatic: life in prison without parole. District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the result came after a “long and difficult journey” for the victims’ families and called the conviction a measure of accountability, even though it could not undo the loss. The jury convicted Preciado in the deaths of Soto, Guerra and Fabian, the name relatives had chosen for the baby Soto was carrying when she was killed just days before delivery.

The case began to unfold publicly when Soto’s family reported her missing after she failed to appear for the induction appointment. Guerra’s relatives also could not reach him. A statewide CLEAR Alert followed on Christmas Day. On Dec. 26, 2023, after a description of Guerra’s vehicle circulated, a resident contacted Soto’s family and said the car was parked behind a building in the 5900 block of Danny Kaye Drive. Officers found Soto in the front seat and Guerra in the back. Both had been shot in the head. According to the arrest affidavit, investigators believed Guerra was shot first and then moved, a detail that helped frame the killings as a targeted attack rather than a sudden struggle inside the car.

Prosecutors built the case with 36 witnesses and a chain of surveillance, phone and physical evidence. They told jurors the meeting with the victims was a robbery from the start. Ross Lewis, one of the prosecutors, put the state’s theory in blunt terms during closing argument: “Three deaths. $300.” The state said the victims had gone to Preciado’s home on Dec. 21, 2023, for a marijuana sale. Detectives later traced the victims’ phone activity and the vehicle’s movements to Charlie Chan Drive, where investigators located a Chevrolet Silverado tied to the Preciado family. Surveillance footage showed that pickup arriving near the spot where the bodies were abandoned shortly before midnight. Investigators said Ramon Preciado got out, approached the victims’ car and, with Romanos nearby, helped wipe it down before the group drove off.

Preciado told detectives that Guerra pulled a gun on him and that he “manipulated” the weapon, causing Soto to be shot, then said he “manipulated” it again when Guerra pointed it at him. Police said the physical evidence did not support that account. The medical examiner reported Guerra died from a contact gunshot wound to the head, and trial testimony described Soto’s fatal wound as being to the lower part of her head. Defense lawyers argued there was no eyewitness, no video from inside the vehicle and no gunshot residue or DNA evidence directly tying Preciado to the shooting. Prosecutor Melissa Alban answered that the lack of DNA did not clear him and said evidence showed the scene had been wiped down and cleaned.

The trial also added detail to the robbery claim. Jurors saw pawn shop surveillance from Dec. 24, 2023, showing two people entering a San Antonio shop. Prosecutors said one of them had been messaging with Preciado on Instagram and exchanged car parts for rings and cash. Authorities later identified the rings as Guerra’s. That evidence, the state argued, showed the killings were tied not only to a drug deal but also to the theft of money and jewelry afterward. The state had previously decided not to seek the death penalty, a move that meant a guilty verdict would bring life without parole. Charges once filed against Myrta Romanos were later dropped. Ramon Preciado’s case remains pending.

Family members used the moments after sentencing to speak directly to Preciado. Soto’s grandmother told him he would regret what he had done. A cousin said she and Soto had planned to raise their children together, plans that ended with the killings. Guerra’s father said his son had changed his life “in more ways than I can ever say.” Outside the courtroom, Guerra’s brother Sabian Hernandez said the family felt Soto, Guerra and Fabian had been vindicated. The remarks gave the hearing a force beyond the legal outcome, turning a courtroom verdict into a public accounting of what the families say was stolen from them: two young adults, a baby and a future.

Preciado filed a motion for a new trial the day after the verdict, calling the jury’s decision contrary to the law and the evidence. A hearing on that motion is set for June 10, while the related case against Ramon Preciado remains unresolved.

Author note: Last updated April 19, 2026.