Hawaii Loa Ridge murder suspect is extradited from Los Angeles

A 23-year-old man, suspected of killing a 73-year-old Hawaii Loa Ridge man in his home, was extradited to Honolulu from Los Angeles and arrested this afternoon.

Honolulu police arrested Juan Tejedor Baron at 2 p.m. today at HPD’s main station on suspicion of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree theft, one count of first-degree theft of a vehicle and identity theft.

Tejedor Baron was suspected of killing Gary Ruby, with whom he had an intimate relationship, in his home situated in a luxury gated community, then hiding the body in a bathtub full of cement.

Honolulu police questioned Tejedor Baron and his companion on March 7, who were at the home when police followed up on a call by Ruby’s brother to do a welfare check since he had not heard from him in three weeks.

The two men were not detained, but were later considered suspects in the case when Ruby’s body was discovered March 8 encased in concrete.

The two men fled to California and were found separately.

Tejedor Baron was found in Anaheim, hiding inside a Greyhound bus bound for Mexico.

Los Angeles police and the U.S. Marshals Service, which had been assisting HPD, made the arrests, but later released Tejedor Baron’s companion, Scott Hannon.

Tejedor Baron confessed to strangling Ruby with a belt, slitting his wrists to stage a suicide, placing his body in the tub, covering it with cement and covering it with a layer of coffee grounds to hide the smell of the decomposing body.

He also confessed to taking Ruby’s car estimated by police to be worth over $63,000, fraudulently changing its registration on Feb. 7, and trying to pass off an unsigned deed to Ruby’s house with his name on it to the community association. The house is worth more than $2.195 million.