Background: Juan Baron is sentenced in court in Honolulu, Hawaii on Aug. 6 (KHNL). Inset: Gary Ruby (O”ahu Mortuary).
A man who killed his older lover in the victim’s posh Hawaii home in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to his murder.
Juan Baron, 26, received his sentencing via a translator in court on Wednesday, three years after the appalling crime where he strangled 73-year-old Gary Ruby, submerged him in a bathtub, and encased him in concrete while still alive. After admitting guilt to charges of second-degree murder, first-degree theft, and identity theft a year ago, Baron received a life sentence with a chance of parole after 20 years.
During the sentencing hearing, Ruby’s relatives laced into Baron, calling him “evil” for the way he killed their loved one.
On March 7, 2022, after not hearing from his brother for three weeks, Ruby’s brother, Lorne Ruby, requested a welfare check. Honolulu Police Department officers visited the multimillion-dollar mansion on Hawaii Loa Ridge, where Baron greeted them. He falsely claimed he had purchased the home from his older partner five years prior. However, this didn’t align with the fact that Gary Ruby had bought the house only two years earlier, exposing Baron’s deceit, prompting him to alter his story.
A more comprehensive search by police, as previously reported by Law&Crime, was conducted the following day. This revealed that “a bathtub in the master bathroom was filled with a concrete-plaster mixture topped with coffee grounds.” At the bottom, they discovered Gary Ruby’s body encased within.
Baron fled to Anaheim, California, but U.S. Marshals and Los Angeles Police Department officers apprehended him on March 9, 2022. He was discovered hiding under a bench on a bus bound for Mexico. After his arrest, he agreed to an interview with detectives the following day.
As detailed in the affidavit, “Baron admitted to having sexual relations with Gary but became enraged after learning from Gary that he was HIV positive. Shortly after, Baron claimed he saw Gary choking on food and responded by wrapping a belt around Gary’s neck, tightening it until Gary lost consciousness. He then dragged Gary to the bathtub and attempted to stage a suicide by slitting Gary’s wrists with a kitchen knife.”
The sentencing hearing, covered by local NBC affiliate KHNL, involved emotional testimony from Lorne Ruby, who addressed Baron directly, stating, “You buried him alive. That thought and my awareness of his final suffering haunt me. Killing him was not enough for you; you inflicted unnecessary, horrific suffering upon him. How cold, how cruel, how inhumane, and how evil was such an act.”
Gary Ruby’s niece, who appeared via Zoom, said, “The medical examiner found particles of cement in my uncle’s lungs. I have to live knowing that he was still breathing when you poured cement on him. You have to live with that, too, Mr. Baron. What a horrific way to die.”
Baron also impersonated Gary Ruby after his death by hijacking his social media accounts. The victim’s niece said this act “killed the memories that were mine and were no longer there for me.”
Baron, a native of Colombia, will be deported back to his home country if he is released from prison.
