TEXAS – A jury has returned its verdict in the capital murder trial of Christopher Preciado on Thursday afternoon, KSAT News reports.
Preciado, 21, was found guilty in the December 2023 killings of 18-year-old Savanah Nicole Soto, 22-year-old Matthew Guerra and their unborn child. His father, 53-year-old Ramon Preciado, was charged with abuse of a corpse for allegedly helping Christopher move the bodies.
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According to reports, the jury reached a decision after approximately one hour and 56 minutes of deliberations.
Preciado was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
What happened
Soto’s family sounded the alarm after she failed to show up for a scheduled induction appointment on Dec. 22, 2023.
Soto and her boyfriend, Guerra, were last heard from on Dec. 21, 2023, according to family members and police.
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a CLEAR alert for Soto on on Christmas Day.
On Dec. 26, 2023, Soto and Guerra were found dead inside a vehicle, both suffering from gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities say they were killed on Dec. 21 after a botched drug deal with Christopher Preciado.
Police said information from Soto’s cellphone was found in the vehicle where they were discovered, which led investigators to another vehicle seen on surveillance video. After releasing images of the suspect vehicle to the public, authorities were led to a home where they found Christopher and his father.
On Jan. 3, 2024, Christopher, who was 19 at the time, was arrested and charged with capital murder.
Ramon, who answered the door and cooperated with police, was also arrested in connection with the case.
Christopher’s mother, Myrta Romanos, was also arrested on allegations that she tried to help cover up the crime.
Myrta and Ramon were both charged with multiple counts of altering, destroying or concealing human remains, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
In February 2025, KSAT News reported Ramon was released from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center after his bond was reduced.
Myrta was expected to go to trial in November 2025. However, after the state requested a reset that the court denied, prosecutors dismissed all charges against her.
According to an arrest affidavit, Christopher 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.