Found Deceased TX - Savanah Soto, 18, Leon Valley, 22 December 2023 #2 *Arrests*

[arielilane]

CP's story of what happened does not ring true. The ME's office ruled the couples' death homicides caused by gunshot wounds to the head. Curious if his dad and/or step-mom will be offered any deal(s) and disclose what they know actually happened (if they actually know the details), and put an end to some of this nonsense. Otherwise, will there be three separate trials? Such a hardship for the families. Moreover, SS's family (as mentioned in linked article) is already going through the loss of ES (SS's bro) almost two years ago. moo

...

According to the arrest affidavit, Christopher Preciado told investigators that Savanah and Guerra drove to his residence on Dec. 21 in the 5000 block of Charlie Chan Drive to sell him marijuana.

Christopher told police Guerra pointed a weapon at him during the transaction, and Savanah was shot as he and Guerra wrestled over the gun. He then said that Guerra pointed the weapon at him again, and when trying to take the gun from him, he shot Guerra.

Investigators said that Preciado’s statement is “inconsistent” with gunshot wounds suffered by Soto and Guerra alongside the evidence located at the crime scene.
San Antonio Police Department detectives are still investigating the couple’s death as they prepare to submit the case to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, which will have 90 days from the date of the arrest to obtain an indictment for the father and son.


Jan 10, 2024

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/savanah-soto-matthew-guerra-homicide-detective-18599024.php

 

[Odeto BJ]

IANAL-but until LE has settled on a package to deliver to DistAtt office: there will not be any realistic position to adapt on the topic of one, two or three trials.

..... Curious if his dad and/or step-mom will be offered any deal(s) and disclose what they know actually happened (if they actually know the details), and put an end to some of this nonsense. Otherwise, will there be three separate trials? Such a hardship for the families.....

Some of the things we don't know and a prosecutor needs to know before making the decisions indicated:

1) Was the gun really in a locked room, and hidden, prior to the crime? Was that its typical means of storage? Loaded?
2) How did the gun get from its hiding place, to the hands of CP and to the Kia?
3) Where was the Kia when shots were fired? Where does that fit in the timeline?
4) We are pretty sure that CP was both a consumer and a seller of drugs. Were the father, and/or step mother, in any way participant in procuring, selling or consuming?
5) Did father, and/or step mother, have active roles in the "hiding" of the bodies? We have seen tampering with evidence and they obviously knew the bodies were in the Kia, but did they touch or otherwise rearrange the bodies after the meeting as recorded?
6) As may posters here have indicated: The big question is motive. Does the "why" of this extend to persons outside this family? Do any or the family members have something to offer in that regard?
7) How tight is the case for CP being a capital murderer? If the evidence is sufficient and the timeline tight, and there are no indication of additional players, why make a "plea deal" with the father or step mother?
8) How long have the father/step mother cohabitated? Are they recognized legally as husband and wife? Goes to spousal privilege, which other posters have indicated is not as strong a barrier in TX as it is in some other states and would introduce the need to affirm the nature of their relationship....It can't simply be a financial arrangement for spousal privilege to have legal context. JMO

Some of these things LE probably already knows and there are probably another 50 or so that a prosecution team would want to know: as would we, I guess.

IANAL and JMO

 

[AutumnDawn]

LOL no offence intended to the poster but trust me the judge and jury aren't going to believe a lying mother over the top of CCTV videos and ballistics forensics.

I don't how how the defence are going to attempt to defend poor MR but they'd be barking up the wrong tree if they even so much as reference this idea.

The best that could be hoped for is that people may come to believe MR was unaware CP snuck in her room took the gun and returned it whilst she was still unaware - even that is very hard to believe. JMO IANAL

I didn't say it would work, I just said it is a wrinkle in the investigation. There have been plenty of cases that should have been open and shut, but because the defense found something to run with.

The cctv shows all 3 on the cctv, how do we know who actually pulled the trigger. Mom is claiming it was hers and noone had access. We haven't seen ballistics so we don't know the full story just yet.

 

[cvaldez1975]

LOL no offence intended to the poster but trust me the judge and jury aren't going to believe a lying mother over the top of CCTV videos and ballistics forensics.

I don't how how the defence are going to attempt to defend poor MR but they'd be barking up the wrong tree if they even so much as reference this idea.

The best that could be hoped for is that people may come to believe MR was unaware CP snuck in her room took the gun and returned it whilst she was still unaware - even that is very hard to believe. JMO IANAL

I agree but she is trying.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

I didn't say it would work, I just said it is a wrinkle in the investigation. There have been plenty of cases that should have been open and shut, but because the defense found something to run with.

The cctv shows all 3 on the cctv, how do we know who actually pulled the trigger. Mom is claiming it was hers and noone had access. We haven't seen ballistics so we don't know the full story just yet.

LE have confirmed that MR's gun is the one used, forensics uses a way of matching a bullet to a gun which is effectively the same as a person can be matched to their fingerprint.

I assume the CCTV shows MR and RP running from their home in a state of shock, maybe having not left it all evening, having jumped out of their beds to get in the truck, then returning back in the truck with CP. CP having left alone earlier. Which would prove they were not at any crime scenes.

My suspicion is MR thought she was covering up for her son by saying this gun has been locked away and nobody touched it without thinking through what that implies. JMO MOO

 

[Kakidoll]

LE have confirmed that MR's gun is the one used, forensics uses a way of matching a bullet to a gun which is effectively the same as a person can be matched to their fingerprint.

I assume the CCTV shows MR and RP running from their home in a state of shock, maybe having not left it all evening, having jumped out of their beds to get in the truck, then returning back in the truck with CP. CP having left alone earlier. Which would prove they were not at any crime scenes.

My suspicion is MR thought she was covering up for her son by saying this gun has been locked away and nobody touched it without thinking through what that implies. JMO MOO

Where did you see LE confirmed MR's gun is the weapon used on both victims? I've only seen that one casing was found in the car that matched her gun. Nothing from autopsy saying bullets matched, as I don't think those results have been released yet. I do believe she thought she was covering up for her son, as you said. I think there is more to the story of where and what happened though.

 

[kae27]

My suspicion is MR thought she was covering up for her son by saying this gun has been locked away and nobody touched it without thinking through what that implies. JMO MOO

This is precisely what I thought, too.

 

[Ruthbullock]

Where did you see LE confirmed MR's gun is the weapon used on both victims? I've only seen that one casing was found in the car that matched her gun. Nothing from autopsy saying bullets matched, as I don't think those results have been released yet. I do believe she thought she was covering up for her son, as you said. I think there is more to the story of where and what happened though.

I agree completely and had the same thought and I am curious if there was a second gun used- there should be a second gun, even if not used as one of the victims always carried one so it’s surprising it’s not been found. Some of the wording in the LE interviews are vague enough that it could be they know that one gun was fired, but open enough that it doesn’t rule out that 2 guns were fired. Also the only evidence we have heard about is what was gained the house and the car- neither of which were the location that a shooting occurred, there is the outside of a vehicle crime scenes that we currently have no information for.

 

[Cartie]

I agree completely and had the same thought and I am curious if there was a second gun used- there should be a second gun, even if not used as one of the victims always carried one so it’s surprising it’s not been found. Some of the wording in the LE interviews are vague enough that it could be they know that one gun was fired, but open enough that it doesn’t rule out that 2 guns were fired. Also the only evidence we have heard about is what was gained the house and the car- neither of which were the location that a shooting occurred, there is the outside of a vehicle crime scenes that we currently have no information for.

Also the car could of been found by someone early and robbed what they could find Inc any weapons then choose not to report the vehicle

 

[Joe Friday]

Also the car could of been found by someone early and robbed what they could find Inc any weapons then choose not to report the vehicle

Lets say that someone did enter the KIA when MG and SS were dead inside. If they left DNA on the door handles and their DNA is in the system, they might be in for a bit of a surprise when LE comes knocking on their door and hauls them downtown. Good luck explaining how your DNA ended up on a car with two dead people inside.

 

[tezi]

Lets say that someone did enter the KIA when MG and SS were dead inside. If they left DNA on the door handles and their DNA is in the system, they might be in for a bit of a surprise when LE comes knocking on their door and hauls them downtown. Good luck explaining how your DNA ended up on a car with two dead people inside.

Could you imagine trying to explain that? OMG, exactly what would you say?

 

[formerlyme]

By the time I was eight I knew a door that could be opened with a fork handle wasn't even an illusion of safety, it just made the person trying to get in madder. I didn't play around, it's got a snib inside, but a proper key lock outside.

(Scuse the smudges, cream paint shows everything.)

View attachment 474422

Tl;dr, in my opinion, anyone who keylocks their bedroom door has a reason.
a) they live in a sharehouse situation,
or b) at one time or another, they had a family member who they didn't trust to respect their boundaries.

I've had both. Right now, it's just the sharehouse thing (my mother, me, my partner, my mother's friend/colleague), and as far as I know, none of us are locking our doors though we could if we wanted or needed to.

MOO

my mom locked her bedroom door so we wouldn't steal her snacks lol, most master bedrooms here have locks on the doors for some reason...

 

[Ruthbullock]

Lets say that someone did enter the KIA when MG and SS were dead inside. If they left DNA on the door handles and their DNA is in the system, they might be in for a bit of a surprise when LE comes knocking on their door and hauls them downtown. Good luck explaining how your DNA ended up on a car with two dead people inside.

Let’s be honest there will be way more than just those few dna samples
On the car- wiped down with a towel or not. Interesting article about dna on cars with one sole driver

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379073820300013

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Where did you see LE confirmed MR's gun is the weapon used on both victims? I've only seen that one casing was found in the car that matched her gun. Nothing from autopsy saying bullets matched, as I don't think those results have been released yet. I do believe she thought she was covering up for her son, as you said. I think there is more to the story of where and what happened though.

Ah, sorry, I see.

I apologise if I've made a mistake but I've consumed a lot of 'content' re this case and I thought that LE had confirmed the gun they located in MR's locked room (which to my mind they also tried to imply had been secretly hidden from them) was the murder weapon -but- maybe they just meant it matched the size of the casing?

If they said it matched the gun used to shoot the victims, I would have understood that as ballistics had already done the unique barrel signature testing and verified the same gun, not that it was just the 'same sort' of gun.

 

[Joe Friday]

Ah, sorry, I see.

I apologise if I've made a mistake but I've consumed a lot of 'content' re this case and I thought that LE had confirmed the gun they located in MR's locked room (which to my mind they also tried to imply had been secretly hidden from them) was the murder weapon -but- maybe they just meant it matched the size of the casing?

If they said it matched the gun used to shoot the victims, I would have understood that as ballistics had already done the unique barrel signature testing and verified the same gun, not that it was just the 'same sort' of gun.

I don't think LE saying they forensically matched the shell casing to the gun has anything to do with the size of the shell.

When a shell is hit by the firing pin and ejected from the gun, tool marks are made on each shell casing from the mechanisms inside the gun which can be identified as being identical from one shell to another just like a fingerprint which is unique to each person. The one shell casing found in the KIA was forensically matched to the gun that was found concealed in MR's locked bedroom. LE did this by test firing the gun and comparing the shells to each other.

LE hasn't said yet if any bullets have been forensically matched to the gun. The gun barrel will leave lands and grooves that are unique to each gun and can be matched from one bullet to another, just as the shell casings are.

It's really good that LE found that gun, it shows the gun matches a shell casing that was found. Hopefully if bullets were recovered from the victims they can also be "forensically" matched to the gun found that MR claims is hers.

If the more than one bullet is recovered from the victims or vehicle and they don't all match a test fired bullet from the gun, than that could really complicate the case.

Still wondering where the missing shell casing is. Did CP or RP pick it up, did CP shoot MG outside the KIA and the shell casing is yet to be found somewhere. You would think if they picked up one casing, they would have looked for the other knowing at least two shots were fired. Why leave one behind if they were both shot in the KIA?

JMO

 

[gliving]

Funeral for Savanah Soto and unborn child Fabian set for Sunday

The funeral date has been postponed to Sunday, Jan. 21. The viewing and burial services will be private and only for family members.

news4sanantonio.com

SAN ANTONIO - The funeral for 18-year-old Savanah Soto and her unborn child, Fabian has been postponed again due to weather conditions.

Services for Savanah and their unborn son were rescheduled for Monday, Jan.15 at Sunset Funeral Home.

The funeral date has been postponed to Sunday, Jan. 21.

The viewing and burial services will be private and only for family members. The rosary will be open to the public at 7:00 p.m.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

I don't think LE saying they forensically matched the shell casing to the gun has anything to do with the size of the shell.

When a shell is hit by the firing pin and ejected from the gun, tool marks are made on each shell casing from the mechanisms inside the gun which can be identified as being identical from one shell to another just like a fingerprint which is unique to each person. The one shell casing found in the KIA was forensically matched to the gun that was found concealed in MR's locked bedroom. LE did this by test firing the gun and comparing the shells to each other.

LE hasn't said yet if any bullets have been forensically matched to the gun. The gun barrel will leave lands and grooves that are unique to each gun and can be matched from one bullet to another, just as the shell casings are.

It's really good that LE found that gun, it shows the gun matches a shell casing that was found. Hopefully if bullets were recovered from the victims they can also be "forensically" matched to the gun found that MR claims is hers.

If the more than one bullet is recovered from the victims or vehicle and they don't all match a test fired bullet from the gun, than that could really complicate the case.

Still wondering where the missing shell casing is. Did CP or RP pick it up, did CP shoot MG outside the KIA and the shell casing is yet to be found somewhere. You would think if they picked up one casing, they would have looked for the other knowing at least two shots were fired. Why leave one behind if they were both shot in the KIA?

JMO

Thanks for this info. I'm a bit baffled as to the casings in the car and unclear as to whether LE has definitely verified that there was only one casing. Because I thought initially in the breaking news when the car was located and it was all 'perplexing' they said casings, plural, were found but no gun. Maybe my mistake.

Anyhow I don't know where casings drop and fall but maybe one landed on the perp and he easily put it in his pocket whereas the other went under a seat or down the side of something. Don't suppose he was in 'hanging around looking for the missing casing' mode?

Or, as I have said a few times, I still wouldn't be surprised if there were two perps, CP and a friend (not his mother or father). However, according to 'the internet' you don't ever let customers sit in the back seat, apparently it's a basic dealer 101 no no. So perhaps MG did step out the car or rather CP leaned in the window but then how 'behind the right ear' on both.

JMO MOO

 

[iamshadow21]

I don't think LE saying they forensically matched the shell casing to the gun has anything to do with the size of the shell.

When a shell is hit by the firing pin and ejected from the gun, tool marks are made on each shell casing from the mechanisms inside the gun which can be identified as being identical from one shell to another just like a fingerprint which is unique to each person. The one shell casing found in the KIA was forensically matched to the gun that was found concealed in MR's locked bedroom. LE did this by test firing the gun and comparing the shells to each other.

LE hasn't said yet if any bullets have been forensically matched to the gun. The gun barrel will leave lands and grooves that are unique to each gun and can be matched from one bullet to another, just as the shell casings are.

It's really good that LE found that gun, it shows the gun matches a shell casing that was found. Hopefully if bullets were recovered from the victims they can also be "forensically" matched to the gun found that MR claims is hers.

If the more than one bullet is recovered from the victims or vehicle and they don't all match a test fired bullet from the gun, than that could really complicate the case.

Still wondering where the missing shell casing is. Did CP or RP pick it up, did CP shoot MG outside the KIA and the shell casing is yet to be found somewhere. You would think if they picked up one casing, they would have looked for the other knowing at least two shots were fired. Why leave one behind if they were both shot in the KIA?

JMO

If the bullets were 22s and didn't exit the skull, they might be too distorted from bouncing around in there to definitely match a weapon. The shell casing might be the best they have. With the digital trail, it should be enough.

MOO

 

[Sadi]

I’m glad to

Funeral for Savanah Soto and unborn child Fabian set for Sunday

The funeral date has been postponed to Sunday, Jan. 21. The viewing and burial services will be private and only for family members.

news4sanantonio.com

SAN ANTONIO - The funeral for 18-year-old Savanah Soto and her unborn child, Fabian has been postponed again due to weather conditions.

Services for Savanah and their unborn son were rescheduled for Monday, Jan.15 at Sunset Funeral Home.

The funeral date has been postponed to Sunday, Jan. 21.

The viewing and burial services will be private and only for family members. The rosary will be open to the public at 7:00 p.m.

Funeral for Savanah Soto and unborn child Fabian set for Sunday

The funeral date has been postponed to Sunday, Jan. 21. The viewing and burial services will be private and only for family members.

news4sanantonio.com

SAN ANTONIO - The funeral for 18-year-old Savanah Soto and her unborn child, Fabian has been postponed again due to weather conditions.

Services for Savanah and their unborn son were rescheduled for Monday, Jan.15 at Sunset Funeral Home.

The funeral date has been postponed to Sunday, Jan. 21.

The viewing and burial services will be private and only for family members. The rosary will be open to the public at 7:00 p.m.

I’m glad to read the viewing and burial is private and family only.

 

[Friday Fan]

Funerals held for slain pregnant woman Savanah Soto, baby Fabian

Savanah Soto and her unborn baby son, Fabian, were buried Monday at Wild Flower Cemetery in San Antonio.

A funeral Mass was held earlier in the day at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

The 18-year-old pregnant Soto was found shot to death along with her boyfriend, Matthew Guerra, 22, in his car at a Northwest Side apartment complex on Dec. 26. Police believe they had been killed days earlier.