Why a Man Killed His Lover and Buried Him in Cement in His Bathtub

In 2022, 26-year-old Juan Baron murdered his 73-year-old lover, Gary Ruby, inside Ruby’s Hawaii home after learning that Ruby had tested positive for HIV. The grisly crime gripped local media and shocked crime watchers across the country.

Now, Baron is appealing the plea deal he took, claiming a language barrier created a misunderstanding.

Ruby was killed sometime between January 19, 2022, and March 7, 2022, according to prosecutors. His body was found encased in cement in a bathtub inside his home. Coffee grounds had been used to mask the odor.

Baron used a belt to kill his lover, per court documents, then moved the body to a bathtub and slit his wrists to make it look like Ruby died by suicide. After finding bags of concrete in the garage, Baron used the substance to conceal Ruby—who may have been alive at the time he was buried in cement—then sprinkled coffee grounds over it to mask the smell of the corpse.

After the murder, Baron took up residence inside Ruby’s million-dollar home; he also drove the older man’s car and later told police he’d intended on taking ownership of Ruby’s property by forging documents.

At some point, Baron fled Hawaii with a new lover. He was arrested in California, hiding under a seat on a Greyhound bus bound for Mexico. He reportedly told police he’d killed Ruby after they’d had sex; Ruby had supposedly failed to tell Baron that he was HIV-positive before they’d slept together.

“From a public health standpoint, what usually lies at the bottom of these types of tragedies is not the HIV diagnosis itself, but the stigma associated with HIV, the lack of information available to the public regarding HIV/AIDS and the long-standing fears associated with HIV/AIDS,” Dr. David Wolff, a medical consultant at New Life Mental Health, tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “In some cases the responses elicited through disclosure can lead to acts of violence.”

Wolff notes that “increased levels of stigma increase secrecy among those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and result in lower rates of HIV testing and treatment adherence.”

“HIV stigma is actually getting worse in certain populations,” Dr. David Ghozland, an OB-GYN with California’s Intimate Health Center, tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “Part of what drives this is what researchers now call ‘HIV invisibility,’ where in wealthier, more privileged communities, better treatment options have made HIV feel like a solved problem, so public education has pulled back from it.”

In interviews with police, Baron admitted that he attempted to transfer the car title into his name and also tried to do the same with Ruby’s house. He also reportedly told authorities that he and Ruby had met two months before the man’s death and that they weren’t concerned about the nearly 50-year age gap between them.

Baron first claimed that Ruby’s death was an accident stemming from the older man choking on his breakfast. He said he covered up Ruby’s death because he was afraid of facing repercussions: “I knew that I was going to get in trouble, and I just took him from this room to his room, put him in the bathtub, made him stay there for a couple of days. And I just put some concrete on him and then I put coffee on it because I was trying to hide him,” he told police.

Baron reportedly obtained the concrete from Ruby’s home, but had to stop at a hardware store for more.

During the police questioning, Baron first claimed he’d killed Ruby because the older man had given him HIV. But when further prompted, Baron admitted he wasn’t sure he had HIV because he hadn’t been tested. With even more prompting, Baron claimed he’d killed Ruby at least partially because he wanted to claim the older man’s lavish lifestyle.

“You killed him, you took his house and his car,” the officer said. “Then you meet a new boyfriend and you brought him into that house, right? And you basically almost took his whole identity from him. Correct?”

“Correct,” Baron replied. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Baron walking hand in hand with his new partner in Waikiki after the murder. Though that man—Scott Hannon—was arrested and charged, the charges were dropped when it became apparent that he’d met Baron after the murder.

In 2024, Baron pled guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree theft and first-degree identity theft. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. At the sentencing, Ruby’s older brother Lorne, a physician, had a chance to speak out about the crime and his beloved brother, saying, "He was still alive and breathing when you entombed him in that bathtub and filled it with concrete. You buried him alive!"

“Nobody should die or have to die the way he did and be treated the way he was treated, buried alive, entombed in concrete, his reputation impugned. I hope that one of the things accomplished by this is that his memory is restored, having been a very loving, good, kind, man of integrity, not the trash that Mr. Baron put out there.”

Also at the sentencing, Baron’s mother expressed hope that her son could be rehabilitated: “We not only know that rehabilitation is possible, but that it’s on its way. We are prepared to be with him every step of the way.”

Baron is now appealing his conviction because he claims there was a language barrier that affected his understanding of his plea deal. He’s asking a higher court to let him go to trial partly because, before admitting he’d murdered Ruby, Baron informed the detectives questioning him that he’d rather speak in Spanish to avoid misunderstandings. An interpreter was present during Baron’s court proceedings, including when he pleaded guilty to Ruby's murder.