BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – After the state and defense provided their opening statements, the defense began calling witnesses on Tuesday in the capital murder trial of a man accused of killing a young couple and their unborn child in 2023.
Testimony will resume on Wednesday.
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Christopher Preciado, 21, has been charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths of Savanah Soto, Matthew Guerra and their child.
Jennifer Pena, the judge from Bexar County’s 290th Criminal District Court, is presiding over the trial.
Joanie Wasil, who dated Soto’s brother, was among the first witnesses to take the stand on Tuesday.
She described to the court how she received a text that Guerra’s car might have been parked at an apartment complex. When Wasil went inside the vehicle, she saw Soto in the passenger seat with a baby car seat on top of her.
If convicted, Preciado is facing up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Background
Soto, who was expected to be induced to deliver her son, never showed up for her appointment on Dec. 22, 2023.
Soto and her boyfriend, Guerra, were last heard from on Dec. 21, 2023, according to family and police statements.
Soto’s family soon reported her as a missing person. Authorities issued a statewide CLEAR Alert on Christmas Day.
One day later, on Dec. 26, 2023, police said Soto and Guerra were found dead in Guerra’s vehicle at a Leon Valley apartment complex.
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.
Authorities later arrested Myrta Romanos, Christopher Preciado’s mother, on allegations that she tried to help cover up the crime.
Soto and Guerra’s families said they did not know Christopher and Ramon Preciado. Police said the dispute that led to the killings began with a drug deal.
According to an arrest affidavit, Christopher Preciado told police that Guerra pulled a gun on him and that he was able to “manipulate it.” Soto and Guerra were shot during that sequence.
In February 2025, Ramon Preciado was released from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center after his bond was reduced.
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.
The case against Christopher Preciado moved forward and was finally set for trial.
The trial is expected to last more than a week. The witness list includes law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, an expert witness and family members from the Guerra and Soto families.
The witness list also includes Ramon Preciado and Romanos, but it is not yet known whether they will be called on to testify.
The judge is not allowing the trial to be livestreamed, but KSAT 12 News will provide continuous updates on the case from inside the courtroom.
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