SAN ANTONIO– A Texas father and son arrested in the killing of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend are facing new charges of tampering with evidence, authorities said Friday as they announced that investigators have recovered the gun used to kill the shoot couple who disappeared before Christmas.
The new charges in connection with the murders of Savanah 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,” it said. San Antonio Police Chief William William. McManus said at a news conference. He previously described the scene in which the couple were found dead in a car as “very, very baffling.”
Christopher Preciado, 19, was arrested Wednesday on capital murder charges and his 53-year-old father, Ramon Preciado, 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 corpse.
When Ramon Preciado was asked during his arrest Wednesday if he had any regrets, he replied: “Don't you regret lying about what you say?” His son made no comment as police escorted him to a separate vehicle. Online court records did not identify attorneys who could speak on their behalf Friday.
McManus did not provide details on what led to the new charges, citing concerns about obstructing the ongoing investigation. He said detectives searched the Preciados' home and found a gun “believed to be the murder weapon.”
Police have said the killings appeared to be the result of a drug deal, and McManus said Friday that evidence on Soto and Guerra's phones indicates they were selling drugs.
Soto was declared missing after her family couldn't find her the weekend before Christmas, when she was due to undergo an induced labor. Days later, police found her body and Guerra's body in a car outside a San Antonio apartment complex. The local medical examiner said they were both shot in the head, and authorities identified Soto's unborn child as a third victim in the killings.
The families of Soto and Guerra have called on both prosecutors to pursue the death penalty in the case.
“For me, there is no other option that would be considered justice if we didn't go for the death penalty,” Gabriel Guerra, Matthew's father, told KENS TV.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said at the news conference that his office will consider what penalties to impose after the investigation is complete and will bring the cases before a grand jury for indictments. As to whether they will seek the death penalty, he said it is “too early to say.”