Savanah Nicole Soto and Matthew Guerra deaths: Pregnant Texas teen and her boyfriend's killers could be 'charged with death penalty'

LEON VALLEY, TEXAS: As police continue the search for suspects in the murders of Texas pregnant teen Savanah Nicole Soto and her boyfriend Matthew Guerra, a Texas district attorney has called out the killers.

The 18-year-old and her 22-year-old boyfriend Matthew Guerra were found on December 26, 2023, in a parked car outside an apartment complex. Both had been shot in the head, police said. Soto was nine months pregnant and was scheduled to have an induced labor on December 23.

Police 'working hard' to solve the case

Police told The Messenger on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, that investigators are "working as hard as they can to solve this" case, which has left members of Soto's and Guerra's families and much of the greater San Antonio community heartbroken.

"I’m confident that they will be caught and charged with capital murder, that we hold them accountable, and that we do everything to bring justice to the memory of both Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra," District Attorney Joe Gonzales told CBS affiliate KENS.

He told the news station that he believes police will arrest the suspects soon and that his office will seek the death penalty when that happens. "In the event that happens, certainly that is something we will potentially consider," he said, though it is too soon to do that now.

He further explained, “We’ve only made the election to seek death twice in my office during my administration, one in which we resolved before we went to trial." Gonzales referred to Otis Kane, who killed a San Antonio cop in 2016, according to KENS.

Savanah Soto 'was so loving with all her nieces and nephews'

During a vigil for Soto last week, members of her family told The Messenger that she was "meant to be a mom.'' 

"She was so loving with all her nieces and nephews," Soto's sister-in-law Joanie Wasil said. Soto was the only girl out of her seven siblings, and was "a tomboy at heart," as per Messenger.

Authorities are requesting assistance in identifying two persons who were seen conversing with someone inside Guerra's car at the time of the killings on security footage.

San Antonio police shared the footage on Facebook and X (previously known as Twitter).

"Justice means bringing everyone accountable for what acts took place," Wasil told The Messenger. She added, "May not be today, may not be tomorrow, but in a matter of time."