Los Angeles police say a 23-year-old man confessed to strangling a Hawaii Loa Ridge homeowner and slitting his wrist to stage a suicide, leaving the victim at the bottom of a bathtub and covering him with cement.

Juan Tejedor Baron was charged Friday in the murder of 73-year-old Gary L. Ruby, and is also accused of unlawfully exerting control over Ruby’s luxury home, worth at least $2.195 million, and his car, valued at more than $63,000.

Baron, who was caught Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., hiding in a crawl space on a Greyhound bus bound for Mexico, waived his constitutional right to remain silent and consented to be interviewed by Los Angeles police detectives. He remained in custody Friday in Los Angeles awaiting extradition to Hawaii.

Authorities say Baron admitted he lied to Honolulu police when questioned about Ruby’s whereabouts.

He told Los Angeles detectives he had been dating Ruby, and alleges that after the two had sex, Ruby informed him he was HIV- positive, according to an affidavit by police attached to a criminal complaint and warrant for Baron’s arrest filed Thursday night.

Baron said that soon after Ruby told him about his HIV status, he saw Ruby choking on food and placed a belt around Ruby’s neck and tightened it until he fell unconscious. He said he then dragged him into the bathtub and used a kitchen knife to slit Ruby’s wrists to stage a suicide, court documents said.

Baron said he then found bags of cement in the garage and emptied them into the tub, partially covering Ruby. He then drove to Lowe’s and bought four more bags of cement and filled the tub, covering the body, documents show.

Baron told police he used coffee grounds to cover the cement to conceal the odor of the decomposing body.

Ruby’s body was found at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday.

Baron also admitted to fraudulently acquiring Ruby’s 2020 Audi, and fraudulently claimed to have acquired his home at 357 Lele­kepue Place. Police said the city’s real property assessment division assessed the property’s land value alone at $1.131 million. Ruby bought the property March 6, 2020, for $2.195 million.

To acquire the Audi, he went to the Department of Motor Vehicles and forged the ownership papers to get title on Feb. 7.

The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office charged Baron with second- degree murder, first-degree identity theft and two counts of first- degree theft. If found guilty, Baron faces a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole for the killing.

Prosecutors can also pursue an extended life sentence without the possibility of parole if they prove Baron knew the victim was 60 years or older. Identity theft and first-degree theft carry maximum sentences of 20 and 10 years.

Baron’s body was discovered Tuesday after the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office’s chief investigator, forensic anthropologist and an evidence specialist were called to the home at 1:01 p.m. They began a careful excavation, sifting through two layers of coffee grounds and recovering samples from each layer, and found Ruby at 2:42 p.m. at the bottom of the tub.

Police dispatch was initially contacted at 10:46 a.m. Monday by Ruby’s brother, who said he had not heard from him in three weeks and asked for officers to perform a welfare check.

The brother had already contacted the homeowners association, and a representative went to the home but received no response. He told a police officer that Ruby had met a new love interest named “Juan” who was significantly younger than his brother.

A police officer and a security guard for the gated community went to the house at 11 a.m. Monday and were met by Scott Hannon. Baron came out and said he bought the home from Ruby five years ago, but the security guard told the officer Ruby bought the house in 2020. “Baron changed his story saying he bought the residence two years ago and had the deed for it,” the affidavit said.

The security guard told Baron and Hannon they needed to register with the main office and show proof Baron bought the property. The community association operations manager told police Baron went to the main office Monday to register as the new owner and emailed him the deed and filled out registration forms. He also received an email from Ruby’s email address at 11:28 a.m. containing the deed to his residence with no notary or signature on it.

He said Baron also tried to list the name Yenisel Guerra as another owner of the house, and gave the association representative a phone number that turned out to be for a fitness club.

Baron and Hannon left in a gold 2020 Audi A6. A check of the license plate by officers showed it was registered to Baron, but the security guard told police the association’s files showed the car was registered to Ruby.

Baron claimed he bought the car new in 2020 from a dealership in North Carolina. But later checks showed the vehicle, which police estimated is worth $63,750, had been transferred Feb. 7 from Ruby to Baron.

Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said in a written statement: “I applaud HPD for their detective work and forensic analysis that will help bring Baron to justice. I also want to thank the United States Marshals Service and the Los Angeles Police Department for their efforts to capture Baron so that he can face trial here in Hawaii.

“Crimes against the elderly are some of the most serious we face and we will ensure that Baron is held accountable for his violent and dangerous actions.”

Hannon was released Thursday in Los Angeles County for lack of evidence to charge him with a crime after his capture in Inglewood, Calif.

Honolulu police considered both men murder suspects in the 73-year-old’s death.