A Texas father and son have been arrested and face new charges of tampering with evidence in the murders of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend, authorities said Friday as investigators linked the disappearance before Christmas. The gun used to shoot the couple has been recovered.
The new charges in the murders of Savannah Nicole Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, were announced two days after the father and son were interviewed by detectives and “made enough statements to implicate them in the murder,” San Antonio Police Chief Williams said. Went.” McManus said at a news conference. He previously described the scene where the couple were found dead in a car as “very, very shocking”.
Christopher Preciado, 19, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of mass murder and his father, Ramon Preciado, 53, was accused of helping move the bodies and charged with abuse of a corpse. On Thursday, police added charges of altering, destroying or concealing evidence against both men and also charged the younger Preciado with abuse of a dead body.
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When asked during his arrest Wednesday if he was remorseful, Ramon Preciado responded, “Aren’t you sorry for lying about what you said?” His son made no comment as police took him away in a separate vehicle. Online court records did not identify attorneys who could speak on his behalf Friday.
McManus did not provide details about the reason for the new charges, citing concerns about hindering the ongoing investigation. He said detectives searched Preciados’ home and found a gun “believed to be the murder weapon.”
Police have said the killings appear to be the result of a drug deal, and McManus said Friday that evidence on Soto and Guerra’s phones showed they were selling drugs.
Soto was declared missing after her family could not locate her the weekend before Christmas, when she was due to go into labor. A few days later, police found her body and Guerra’s body in a car outside a San Antonio apartment complex. The local medical examiner said both of them were shot in the head, and authorities identified Soto’s unborn child as the third victim in the murders.
The families of both Soto and Guerra have called on prosecutors to pursue the death penalty in the case. Gabriel Guerra, Matthew’s father, told Cannes TV, “There is no other option for me that would be considered justice, if we did not go for the death penalty.”
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said during a news conference that his office will consider what punishment to impose after the investigation is completed and that they will bring the cases to a grand jury for indictment. Asked whether he would seek the death penalty, he said, “It’s too early to tell.”
