SAN ANTONIO, TX - San Antonio police have arrested a third suspect, Myrta Romanos, in connection with the fatal shootings of Savannah Soto, 18, her boyfriend, Matthew Guerra, 22, and their unborn son, Fabian.
Myrta Romanos, 47, was taken into custody last week and charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and altering, destroying, and concealing human remains. She is the stepmother of Christopher Preciado, who was arrested just days prior on charges of capital murder in the deaths of Soto, Guerra, and Fabian.
Police said Preciado killed the family using a gun that belonged to Romanos.
Romanos lives with Preciado and his father, Ramon, in a home on the 5000 block of Charlie Chan Drive on the Northwest Side. The elder Preciado, 53, previously was charged with abuse of a corpse and altering, destroying, and concealing human remains.
“There was a lot of information on social media that there was a third individual involved,” San Antonio police Lt. Michelle Ramos said after the arrest of Romanos. “Our homicide detectives were aware of that. However, we were looking for enough probable cause to make that arrest and to present the best case forward to the DA’s office.”
Soto and Guerra went missing days before Christmas and were found dead December 26 in Guerra’s car, a Kia Optima, which had been abandoned at a Northwest Side apartment complex.
In an interview with investigators January 4, the day after Christopher and Ramon Preciado were arrested, Romanos denied knowledge of the killings and said she was asleep December 21, the night Soto and Guerra were slain, according to a police affidavit.
While searching the Preciado home, police found a gun. The next day, they determined through firearms analysis that it matched a bullet recovered from Guerra’s car. The weapon was in a locked bedroom to which Romanos alone had the key, police said. She told officers a family member gave her the gun.
Amateur sleuths had speculated on social media about a possible third arrest after police made public a video Dec. 28 and asked for the public’s help in identifying the people seen in it.
The security video captured a nighttime scene in a parking lot at the Colinas Medical apartments, where Guerra’s car was found with his and Soto’s bodies inside.
The same Kia Optima was seen pulling up next to a black pickup in the video. A man believed to be Ramon Preciado got out of the truck and talked to the driver of the car, believed to be Christopher. Police say that Soto and Guerra were dead by this time and were in the Kia and that the Preciados were preparing to ditch the car.
On the video, it appeared that someone in the pickup tossed Ramon Preciado a towel to wipe his fingerprints off the door of the Kia. Initially, police would not confirm whether they were looking into that individual’s identity.
Separate surveillance video showed Romanos leaving the Preciado home with Ramon on the night of the shootings, according to a police affidavit. The two drove off in his black pickup, and they returned several minutes later, this time with Christopher, the affidavit states.
The affidavit says the evidence demonstrates that Romanos "knowingly concealed a corpse with the intent to impair its availability as evidence in an investigation."
Based on the affidavit, Bexar County Magistrate Judge Celeste Ramirez signed a warrant for Romanos' arrest Wednesday morning.
Neighbors of Romanos said they rarely saw her in the days after the father and son were arrested. She had food delivered to her home while a car sat in the driveway with the words “baby killer” spray-painted on it.
After her arrest on January 10, 2024, Romanos said nothing and kept her head down as she was escorted to a police vehicle in front of reporters and TV cameras. She wore what appeared to be Christmas-themed pajama pants and a black Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt.
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