Cops released CCTV footage Thursday of two persons of interest in the case of pregnant Texas teen Savanah Nicole Soto and her boyfriend, Matthew Guerra, who were both found dead Dec. 26 inside a vehicle—three days after going missing.
In a press conference, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus also revealed more details surrounding the couple’s deaths, while finally identifying Guerra, 22, as one of the victims. The medical examiner later confirmed the identity of the second victim as 18-year-old Soto.
Soto’s unborn baby was also declared dead at the scene Tuesday.
The grey Kia Optima the pair were discovered in had been parked for several days, McManus confirmed Thursday. He also added new details, including that despite the fact that Guerra died from a contact gun shot to the head, the manner of his death–whether suicide or murder–had been undetermined. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed to The New York Post that Soto’s death has been ruled a homicide, and that she also died “from a gunshot wound to the head.”
The case is being investigated as a Capital Murder. Cops don’t believe the act was a murder-suicide but McManus said that could still change. He added police currently believed the pair were shot somewhere else and were dumped in the car and driven to the car park.
Detectives are combing through hours of security footage in the hope of shedding additional light on the pair’s final hours. San Antonio Police shared CCTV footage Thursday, taken from a nearby location—“very close,” according to McManus—where the bodies were located days before they were found.
In the video, a Chevy Silverado is seen pulling up to the grey Kia Optima. One person of interest is driving the dark-colored pickup truck, while the second is driving the victims’ silver Kia Optima. The vehicles pull up side-by-side, and the driver of the Chevy Silverado gets out and opens the driver’s side door and interacts with the driver of the Kia, handing them a bed cover from inside the Chevy. After the small exchange, the second person is seen getting out of the driver’s seat of the Kia Optima briefly, before returning to the car. Then, the first person gets into the Chevy, and the cars drive away.
In the press conference, McManus said it appeared the driver of the Kia handed the driver of the Chevy “something to wipe the side of the car down with, but we can't be 100 percent certain of that.” Police say the driver was of Guerra’s Kia Optima was neither of the victims, but would not add if they believed the victims were dead or alive at the time.
“Cleary, it was a heinous act, it was unspeakable, the tragedy of it,” McManus said.
Anyone with any information is encouraged to call SAPD Homicide at (210) 207-7674 or (210) 207-7440.
