Gary Ruby: A Life Stolen on Hawaii Loa Ridge | Revisited

Gary Leslie Ruby was not a headline. He was a Montreal-born McGill graduate, a longtime Honolulu resident, a retired State of Hawaii Regulation Analyst, a lover of theater, music, literature, travel, family, and friendship. In 2022, Gary was expected in San Diego to see a friend’s play. He never arrived. Calls, texts, and emails went unanswered. Back home on Hawaii Loa Ridge, someone younger was already trying to step into his house, his car, and his name. This revisited episode of Beneath the Palms tells the story of Gary Ruby with the care it deserves. Not as “the concrete bathtub case.” Not as a shocking headline. But as the life of a 73-year-old man who trusted someone new, vanished from the people who loved him, and became the center of one of Honolulu’s most disturbing murder cases. Juan Tejedor Baron later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Prosecutors said he killed Gary, concealed his body in a standalone soaking tub, used cement and coffee grounds to hide what he had done, and attempted to take control of Gary’s home and car. In 2025, Baron was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, with a minimum of 20 years before release eligibility. This episode also carefully examines the false HIV-related claim Baron gave investigators, a claim prosecutors and Gary’s family later said was unsupported by evidence. The story raises deeper questions about elder vulnerability, financial exploitation, trust, stigma, loneliness, and how quickly a person’s humanity can be buried beneath the worst thing done to them. Gary deserves to be remembered for more than the way he was found. He was a brother, uncle, great-uncle, cousin, friend, coworker, traveler, theater lover, and someone people remembered as gentle, witty, kind, and generous with his heart. Listener discretion is advised. This episode discusses murder, body concealment, financial exploitation, elder vulnerability, and a false HIV-related claim. Sources: Gary Leslie Ruby Obituary – https://www.oahumortuary.com/obituaries/Gary-Leslie-Ruby?obId=28215279 Gary Leslie Ruby Obituary – https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/28215279/gary-leslie-ruby Gary Leslie Ruby Obituary, Honolulu Star-Advertiser – https://obits.staradvertiser.com/2022/04/08/gary-leslie-ruby-08042022/ Man pleads guilty to murder in Hawaii after killing lover and encasing his body in tub, Associated Press – https://apnews.com/article/c79879068ae3697e3fc4c79242c230c3 Man receives life sentence for Hawaii Loa Ridge murder, Hawaii News Now – https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/31/man-receives-life-sentence-hawaii-loa-ridge-murder/ Documents detail what led to body in concrete in Hawaii tub, Court TV / Associated Press – https://www.courttv.com/news/body-in-concrete-found-in-tub-in-exclusive-hawaii-neighborhood/ A Hawaii man’s body was found in a bathtub filled with concrete. Police say his lover killed him, The Washington Post – https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/16/juan-tejedor-baron-body-bath-tub/ Two fugitives suspected of murder in Hawaii are arrested in Southern California, Los Angeles Times – https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-10/hawaii-fugitive-murder-suspects-arrested-in-southern-california Family Confronts Killer Who Encased Lover in Cement in Bathtub, PEOPLE – https://people.com/juan-baron-gary-ruby-bathtub-family-confronts-killer-11785266 Honolulu Star-Advertiser archive reporting via Newspapers.com, March 2022 to July 2025 – https://www.newspapers.com/ Music: “Broken Wings” by Yoza, used with permission. #GaryRuby #HawaiiTrueCrime #BeneathThePalms #HawaiiLoaRidge #HonoluluTrueCrime