This poor family has been through so much in such a short time.
As we covered, a pregnant 18-year-old, Savanah Soto, from San Antonio, Texas, was found dead on Tuesday after her mother reported her missing when she didn’t turn up for her planned induced labor. Sadly, she and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Matthew Guerra, were found dead in their car, and an investigation is ongoing to determine what happened.
But a year before this heartbreaking matter, Savanah’s family was grieving an entirely different loss — the death of her 15-year-old brother Ethan Soto. In light of recent events, a video is resurfacing online proving just how difficult this situation has been for the family after an incident in court got out of hand two months ago.
Related: Mother Shot Dead By Her Teen Brother During Argument Over Xmas Presents
According to local outlet KSAT, Ethan was allegedly murdered by 18-year-old Victor Nathaneal Rivas (inset). After Ethan reportedly stole THC cartridges, authorities claim Victor got back at the teen by shooting at his family home first, though Ethan was not injured at the time. Per the outlet, the boy’s mother met up with Rivas to pay him back for the theft in an effort to calm the situation, but he denied the interaction.
Victor then allegedly reached out to an underaged girl on Instagram and had her set up a drug deal with Soto involving the cartridges he stole, during which he “stated several times that he was looking for the person who robbed him and was going to ‘catch’ him when he saw him,” the affidavit read via the outlet. It was during this May 2022 meeting that Rivas allegedly ambushed Ethan and shot him multiple times. The teen died in the hospital.
So, because of all of this, tensions were no doubt running high when the 18-year-old appeared in court in October for his murder trial. According to the San Antonio Express, Rivas made a gesture at Soto’s family during the hearing — causing one male relative to jump over the railing and begin beating up the suspect. Three other men also joined in and the attack lasted about 30 seconds, getting so hectic, Judge Ron Rangel was forced to hit the panic button and flee the scene! Court bailiffs eventually put an end to it and Rivas only suffered minor injuries. Take a look (below):
Two adult males and two juvenile males were charged with assault and disrupting court proceedings, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. Oof.
As mentioned, police are currently investigating Savanah and Matthew’s sudden deaths. Little is known about what happened, but it is being considered a possible homicide, per reports. After all this, we cannot imagine how much pain this family must be in. Sending them our thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, authorities will have some answers for them soon.
[Image via Savanah Soto/Facebook/KENS5/YouTube]