A 19-year-old boy and his father were arrested Wednesday night in connection with the murders of pregnant Texas teen Savannah Soto and her boyfriend Matthew Guerra, who were shot and killed during a drug deal stall last month. Police announced that he had been charged.
Christopher Preciado, 19, and his father Ramon Preciado, 53, were arrested by San Antonio police more than a week after the young woman and her lover died from gunshot wounds to the head. .
On December 26, Soto, 18, and Guerra, 22, were found dead in a car outside an apartment complex in San Antonio. Their fetuses were also declared dead.
Police said Christopher was charged with secret murder and Ramon was charged with abuse of a corpse. Further charges are pending.
“It appears that a drug transaction went awry,” Sergeant Washington Moscoso said at a news conference late Wednesday.
Soto disappeared on December 22, the day before she was scheduled to induce labor.
She failed to show up for her appointment at Stone Oak Methodist Hospital and her family reported her missing.
San Antonio police previously released surveillance footage of two persons of interest near the crime scene.
The video shows one of the suspects behind the wheel of the victim's Kia Optima while a dark pickup driven by the other suspect pulls into the parking lot.
Police say Christopher is accused of killing the two victims, and that his father only helped move the victims' bodies to another location after their deaths.
Authorities believe Soto and Guerra were killed around midnight on December 21st.
Soto's cellphone was recovered by investigators and proved to be valuable, Moscoso said.
He said police were able to track the possible location of the suspect's vehicle seen in the surveillance footage.
Both suspects emerged from the police station late Wednesday in front of local media.
Police also said they were no longer searching for other suspects.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of Mr. Soto and Mr. Guerra,” the department said on social media.
