Soto-Guerra Murder
Savannah Soto & Matthew Guerra
On December 25, 2023 police issued a missing-person alert for 18-year-old Soto, who was pregnant with her first child. Concern quickly grew as family and friends searched for answers. Just two days later, the search came to a tragic end when Soto and her boyfriend Matthew were found dead.

Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra
The Murders of Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra
Timeline of Events:
2022
- Soto’s brother, Ethan, was shot and killed.
- Savanah and her younger brother were the only children of their mother, Gloria Cordova.
- In October, a courtroom brawl erupted when Soto’s family attempted to confront Nathaniel Rivas, the man charged in Ethan’s death.
2023
Friday, December 22, 2023 – Soto is last seen
- 2:00 p.m., Savanah Soto is last seen at the Grissom Road apartment complex where she and her boyfriend, Matthew Guerra, lived in Leon Valley, Texas.
- She was in a gray 2013 KIA Optima, which was later confirmed to belong to Guerra.
- Soto was pregnant with her first child, a son she planned to name Fabian.
Family calls for a welfare check
- Concerned family members contact Leon Valley police requesting a welfare check at Soto’s apartment.
- Police visit the apartment but see no signs of forced entry and determine there are no immediate grounds for concern.
Saturday, December 23, 2023
- 6:30 PM: Soto misses her scheduled labor induction. She was supposed to check in at Stone Oak Methodist Hospital at 6:30 a.m. for labor induction but never arrives. Family attempts to call her, but she does not answer her phone.
- Soto’s mother pleads for help
- That evening, Gloria Cordova posts a message on Facebook, pleading for help in finding her daughter.
- “If you see her, please reach out to me … I’m worried about her safety,” she writes.
December 23 – 25, 2023 (Saturday – Monday)
- Soto’s family spends the weekend and Christmas Day searching the Grissom Road apartment complex.
- They put up missing person flyers and continue reaching out for information.
Monday, December 25, 2023
- Missing person alert issued: The Texas Department of Public Safety issues a Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue (CLEAR) Alert, stating that Soto is in “imminent danger.”
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
- 4:00 PM: police find two bodies inside Guerra’s KIA Optima at the Colinas at Medical Apartments on Danny Kaye Drive, about three miles from where Soto was last seen.
- San Antonio Police Chief William McManus arrives at the scene and informs the grieving family that Soto and Guerra’s bodies are discovered
- McManus describes the case as “very complex … very, very perplexing.”
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
- Police confirm a homicide investigation. SAPD officially classifies the case as capital murder, listing the victims as:
- An 18-year-old Hispanic woman (Soto)
- A 22-year-old Hispanic man (Guerra)
- An unborn child (deceased)
- Police confirm gunshot wounds
- Both victims suffered gunshot wounds.
- The medical examiner begins a death investigation to determine exact causes of death.
- Guerra’s identity is confirmed
- The medical examiner positively identifies Guerra’s body.
- Soto’s remains are still pending official confirmation.
- Rumors surface about Guerra’s family
- Guerra’s family denies involvement in the couple’s disappearance and murder.
- Soto’s family states that Guerra had a history of domestic violence against Soto.
- He had pleaded guilty to assaulting her on Christmas Day 2022 and was still on probation at the time of his death.
Investigation and Case Files
Murder Investigation Case Files
Timeline of Events: December 2023 Homicide Investigation
Timeline of Events: Homicide Investigation
Location: Bexar County, Texas
Case Type: Capital Murder Investigation
December 21, 2023
- 11:50 PM:
- GPS data from the victims’ vehicle pings near Charlie Chan Dr. and Cary Grant Dr., a few blocks from where the vehicle was later found.
- It is believed the male victim met unknown individuals at this location, possibly for a narcotics transaction.
- Investigators suspect this is where both victims were murdered.
- 11:54 PM:
- The vehicle leaves Charlie Chan Dr. and travels to 5903 Danny Kaye Dr., where it is later discovered.
- 11:59 PM (Surveillance Footage):
- A gray Chevrolet Silverado arrives at 5903 Danny Kaye Dr. with its lights off.
- The Silverado parks in the back parking lot.
- The victims’ 2013 Kia Optima arrives and parks next to the Silverado.
- A heavy-set Hispanic male exits the Silverado and approaches the Kia Optima.
- The driver of the Optima (not one of the victims) exits momentarily before getting back inside.
- The Hispanic male wipes the exterior door handle of the Optima with a towel before returning to his vehicle.
- The Kia Optima is driven behind the building, followed by the Silverado.
- 12:02 AM:
- The Silverado leaves the area alone.
- The Kia Optima remains parked behind the building.
- Investigators now believe the victims were already deceased inside the Kia Optima at this time.
December 23, 2023
- Leon Valley Police receive a missing persons report (Case #2023-LVPD-004618).
- The pregnant female victim had missed her scheduled medical induction and could not be reached.
- The male victim (her boyfriend) was also missing and not responding to calls.
- The family searched local hospitals, but neither victim was found.
- A media broadcast is issued with details of the boyfriend’s 2013 Kia Optima.
December 26, 2023
- A resident of 5903 Danny Kaye Dr. contacts the victims’ family, stating a vehicle matching the boyfriend’s Kia Optima is parked there.
- The family confirms the vehicle’s identity from a photo and notifies the police.
- Leon Valley Police arrive and make a gruesome discovery:A deceased pregnant female in the front passenger seat.
- A deceased male in the backseat with a gunshot wound to the head.
- The male victim appears to have been dragged into the vehicle, with his pants pulled down, exposing his lower body.
- No weapon is found near the male victim.
- Blood transfer on the exterior of the vehicle suggests it was moved from another crime scene.
- San Antonio Police Homicide Detectives take over the investigation.
- A search warrant is obtained for the vehicle: Spent shell casings are found inside, but no firearm is recovered.
- Evidence suggests the victims were killed elsewhere and their bodies relocated.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
- Soto’s identity is confirmed
- The Bexar County Medical Examiner confirms that Soto was the 18-year-old woman found in the car.
- Both Soto and Guerra died from gunshot wounds to the head.
- Guerra’s fatal wound was a contact gunshot, meaning the gun was held directly against his head.
- Police release surveillance footage
- SAPD shares video footage of two “persons of interest” at the apartment complex where the bodies were found.
- The footage shows a Chevy Silverado pickup pulling up next to Guerra’s Kia.
- The pickup’s driver hands something to the Kia’s driver before both vehicles drive away.
- Guerra was NOT the driver of his Kia in the video.
Friday, December 29, 2023
- Medical examiner rules the deaths as homicides.The ruling eliminates the possibility of a murder-suicide, which police had initially considered.
January 2, 2024
- Investigators provide one of the victim’s cell phones to Detective Knox in the Technical Investigations Unit for analysis.
January 3, 2024
- Investigators retrieve phone data:
- The victim had recently searched for “Charlie Chan Dr.” before disappearing.
- Investigators note that Charlie Chan Dr. is near the vehicle recovery location (5903 Danny Kaye Dr.).
- GPS data confirms the victims’ vehicle was near Charlie Chan Dr. and Cary Grant Dr. at 11:50 PM on December 21.
- Google Maps Search:
- Investigators search Charlie Chan Dr. on Google Maps and spot a vehicle resembling the suspect’s gray Chevrolet Silverado.
- Owner research confirms the vehicle belongs to an individual matching the description of the Hispanic male seen on surveillance footage.
- Detectives visit the suspect’s home and find the Chevrolet Silverado.
- Father and son arrested Christopher Preciado, 19, is arrested and charged with capital murder.
- His father, Ramon Preciado, 53, is charged with abuse of a corpse for allegedly helping move and conceal the bodies.
- SAPD states the killings were the result of a drug deal “gone wrong.”
- Christopher did the killings,” Sgt. Washington Moscoso says. “His father helped him hide the car and victims.”
Interviews:
Ramon Preciado:
- Homicide detectives arrived at the listed residence on Charlie Chan Drive, where they located the suspect vehicle. While at the residence, a man identified as Ramon Preciado voluntarily approached SAPD detectives, stating that he knew why they were there. Ramon Preciado then directed detectives to speak with his son, Christopher Preciado. Both Ramon and Christopher Preciado were transported to SAPD Homicide for questioning, while additional SAPD detectives executed a search warrant at the Charlie Chan Drive residence.
- During the interview, after being read his Miranda rights, Ramon Preciado admitted to driving his Chevrolet Silverado to 5903 Danny Kaye Drive, where he met Christopher Preciado. Ramon stated that on the night of the incident, December 21, 2023, Christopher called him and instructed him to meet at the vehicle dump location.
- Ramon identified himself in the surveillance footage from 5903 Danny Kaye Drive as the individual seen exiting the Chevrolet Silverado. He confirmed that he met Christopher at the apartment complex, where Christopher arrived driving another vehicle—the same vehicle where Matthew Guerra and Savanah Soto were later found deceased. Ramon Preciado admitted to assisting Christopher Preciado at the scene where the victims’ vehicle was abandoned at 5903 Danny Kaye Drive.
Christopher Preciado
- Christopher Preciado reported that Matthew Guerra and Savanah Soto drove to his residence on Charlie Chan Drive to sell him marijuana. He stated that he had communicated with Matthew Guerra via Instagram and provided detectives with his Instagram account.
- During questioning, Christopher Preciado gave a version of events that conflicted with evidence collected at the scene and from the victims’ recovered vehicle. He claimed that Matthew Guerra pointed a weapon at him, but his statements
did not align with forensic findings or surveillance footage. Christopher stated that he called his father, Ramon Preciado, and told him to meet him at the location where the vehicle was dumped and where police
found the vehicle on December 26, 2023.
Thursday, January 4, 2024
- Guerra’s history with drug dealing is revealed According to Guerra’s family, he had been involved in drug sales and often posted pictures of drugs and cash on social media.
- He had previously been shot at due to his drug activities.
Friday, January 5, 2024
- Police find the murder weapon
- During a court-sanctioned search, police find the gun used to kill Soto and Guerra inside the Preciado home.
- Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales states that Ramon Preciado (the father) was not charged with capital murder because there’s no evidence he was present during the killings.
- Soto and Guerra were involved in drug sales
- Investigators discovered that her boyfriend was involved in narcotics sales, frequently using his phone and social media platforms, including Instagram, to conduct transactions. It was reported that he often posted images of cash and drugs online, attracting unwanted attention.
- Family members further disclosed that multiple individuals had attempted to rob him in the past and that he had previously been both a target and a perpetrator of shootings. They provided investigators with the female victim’s phone number: (210) 574-6327. The family of the male provided me with his phone number, (210) 854-77 48, as well as his Instagram guapo2xx
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
- Third arrest made: SAPD arrests Christopher Preciado’s stepmother, Myrta Romanos, 47. She is charged with:
- Abuse of a corpse
- Tampering with evidence
- Altering, destroying, and concealing human remains
- Police say Romanos owned the gun used in the killings.
- Police confirm there are no additional suspects.
- “We are confident there are no more suspects,” SAPD spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Ramos says.
Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra
Murder Case Files
Crime Scene: Murfder of Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra
‘Very perplexing crime scene.’ Missing pregnant teen and her boyfriend found dead in a parked car and police said they may have been there for days.