Attorneys representing the state and Christopher Preciado, the 21-year-old man charged in connection with the shooting deaths of Matthew Guerra and Savanah Soto, met during a pre-trial conference on Friday.
San Antonio police believe Christopher Preciado killed Guerra and Soto in December 2023 in a drug deal gone wrong.
His appearance on Friday in the 290th District Court was his first since his arrest.
In total, 14 motions were discussed. All of them were agreed upon by the attorneys.
Regarding a trial date, the attorneys floated several options for early next year. However, by the time the hearing ended, a definitive trial date had not been set.
Judge Jennifer Pena initially opted for a Jan. 26, 2026, trial date. However, one of the attorneys raised concerns about her involvement in a separate capital murder trial, which is also scheduled for January.
A court coordinator confirmed to KSAT Monday morning that Preciado’s trial date has been set for Feb. 2, 2026.
Preciado and his family’s charges
On the capital murder charge, Christopher Preciado is being held on a $1 million bond, court records show.
He also faces charges of abuse of a corpse and alter/destroy/conceal a human corpse.
Christopher Preciado and two other suspects, his parents, Ramon Preciado and Myrta Romanos, were indicted by a Bexar County grand jury last March.
Investigators believe Ramon Preciado and Romanos allegedly helped Christopher Preciado move the bodies to a Leon Valley apartment complex, where police later found them.
In May, Christopher Preciado penned a letter from prison in response to a $1 million lawsuit filed against his family on behalf of the victims.
In the letter to the Bexar County District Clerk’s Office, Christopher Preciado expressed his innocence and denied allegations made by Soto’s mother and Guerra’s father.
Read more:
- Parents of Savanah Soto, Matthew Guerra file $1 million lawsuit against Preciado family
- Christopher Preciado claims innocence in letter addressing $1 million lawsuit over alleged cover-up of murders
- Suspects in shooting deaths of Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra indicted by grand jury