Christopher Ray Preciado

OVERVIEW & LEGAL HISTORY SUMMARY

Christopher Ray Preciado (born 2004) is a San Antonio, Texas resident convicted of the December 21, 2023, capital murders of 18-year-old Savanah Soto, 22-year-old Matthew Guerra, and their unborn child, Fabian. Prior to his arrest, Preciado resided in northwest San Antonio near the location where the victims' bodies were abandoned. On the night of December 21, 2023, Preciado arranged a meeting with Matthew Guerra under the guise of purchasing marijuana. Preciado intended to rob Guerra during the transaction. Inside Guerra's Kia Optima, Preciado shot both Guerra and Soto at close range in the head, killing them and causing the death of Soto's full-term unborn child. Preciado subsequently drove the vehicle containing the deceased victims to a nearby apartment complex on Danny Kaye Drive, abandoned it, and pawned Guerra's personal jewelry to purchase new tires for his own vehicle. Following an investigation by the San Antonio Police Department utilizing digital phone forensics and surveillance footage, Preciado was arrested on January 3, 2024. A Bexar County grand jury indicted him on three counts of capital murder under Texas Penal Code § 19.03. The Bexar County District Attorney's Office elected not to seek the death penalty, making a sentence of life imprisonment without parole mandatory upon conviction. Trial commenced on March 17, 2026, in Bexar County's 290th Criminal District Court before Judge Jennifer Pena. The prosecution presented 36 witnesses, digital evidence of robbery motive, and ballistics testimony. The defense asserted self-defense based on Preciado's police interrogation claims, but called no witnesses. On March 26, 2026, after 1 hour and 56 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all three capital murder counts. Judge Pena immediately imposed three concurrent life sentences without parole. Preciado was transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve his sentence. On March 30, 2026, defense counsel filed a motion for a new trial and initiated appellate proceedings. Additionally, Preciado remains a defendant in a $1 million civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victims' surviving families.