BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Testimony in the Christopher Preciado capital murder trial resumed on Wednesday morning and concluded only a few hours afterward.
On Wednesday, jurors were shown the Jan. 3, 2024 body-worn camera of San Antonio Police Department officer Francisco Ruiz, who was present at the Preciado home as a search warrant was executed.
After Ruiz was excused from the stand, the prosecution called Rosalinda Brown to testify. Brown is a manager at a San Antonio-area pawn shop.
Bexar County co-prosecutor Ross Lewis presented surveillance video of the pawn shop.
The first initial images of the video showed a vehicle parking in the pawn shop’s front parking lot on the afternoon of Dec. 24, 2023, three days after SAPD said Matthew Guerra, Savanah Soto and their unborn child were shot and killed.
A male and female emerged out of the vehicle. Prosecutors believe the male is one of the people Preciado exchanged messages with on Instagram.
According to the state, the male sold car parts to Preciado in exchange for rings and money.
Authorities later confirmed the same rings belonged to Guerra.
Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kimberly Molina was the state’s final witness.
According to Molina, Soto’s autopsy report revealed she was shot in a lower part of her head. Guerra, who Molina said was shot at close range, suffered a wound on the side of his head.
After Molina was excused from the stand, the prosecution rested its case just after 12:15 p.m.
Minutes later, Preciado’s defense team also rested. No defense witnesses were called on to testify. In all, the prosecution called 36 witnesses to the stand.
Judge Jennifer Pena, who is presiding over the trial in Bexar County’s 290th Criminal District Court, said closings arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Preciado has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of Guerra, Soto and their unborn child.
If found guilty, Preciado faces 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 included law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, an expert witness and family members from the Guerra and Soto families.
The witness list also included Ramon Preciado and Romanos, but neither were asked 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.
More coverage of the Christopher Preciado capital murder trial on KSAT: