Beneath the Palms: Hawaii's True Crime, Mysteries & Untold History

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

A scenic morning drive to Oahu’s Pali Lookout ends in a bloodied 911 call.

She says her husband—a Maui anesthesiologist—hit her with a rock, tried to push her over the edge, and injected her with something.

He says nothing at all.

This is Part 1 of a two-part investigation into one of Hawaii’s most chilling attempted murder cases.

Listener discretion is advised: this episode contains descriptions of domestic violence and physical assault.

All information is based on verified court documents, law enforcement records, and official news reports.

Follow us on Instagram @BeneathThePalmsPodcast
Support the show at patreon.com/BeneaththePalmsPodcast

Darkness may linger beneath the palms. But so does hope.

#TrueCrimePodcast #PodcastRecommendation #TrueCrimeJunkie #NewEpisodeDrop #PodcastAlert #MustListenPodcast #BeneathThePalms #HawaiiTrueCrime #UnderThePalms #BTPEpisode026 #PatreonExclusivePreview #AttemptedMurder #DomesticViolenceAwareness #MedicalCrime #PaliLookout #GerhardtKonig #HawaiiCrimeStory #SurvivorStory #HeardAndBelieved #JusticeForSurvivors #WhenSilenceKills #CalculatedViolence

Waikiki was alive that night—fireworks overhead, music on every corner, crowds spilling into the streets.

And then, just like that, Carlos Carrillo was gone.

He was 28. A club promoter. A fixture in Hawaii’s nightlife scene. On July 4th, 2000, he walked out of Evolution Waikiki—and vanished.

No phone call. No bag. No boarding pass. And no sign he ever left the island.

But that night, his fiancée was kidnapped by the same man who last saw Carlos alive—a bouncer named Kevin Halemano. Carpet stained with something dark was later pulled from a dumpster behind the club. Then another piece turned up at a landfill. Both were tested. But the results? Never released.

And no one was ever charged in Carlos’s disappearance.

What happened inside that club, between closing time and dawn, remains one of the most disturbing and underreported mysteries in Hawaii’s modern history.

This episode explores the silence that followed, the mother who never gave up, and the unanswered question still hanging over Oahu’s nightlife scene.

⚠️ Listener discretion advised: this episode contains descriptions of possible abduction, unresolved death, and emotional trauma.

If you have information about the disappearance of Carlos Carrillo, please contact Honolulu CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300. You can remain anonymous.

—

If this story moved you, follow Beneath the Palms, share the episode, and leave a review. Every action helps keep these stories alive.

🎵 Music: “Obsession” by Yoza – used with permission
📚 Sources: The Charley Project, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, verified court records, and interviews with Maya Carrillo and Jennifer Bray

#CarlosCarrillo #BeneathThePalms #WaikikiDisappearance

On January 17, 2025, seventeen-year-old Samantha “Sammy” Chun and eighteen-year-old Joseph “Joey” Fujioka left Mililani for Ke Iki Beach on Oahu’s North Shore. By morning, their phones, wallets, clothing, and blanket were still on the sand. Joey’s car was found locked nearby. Both teens were gone.

This fully revisited episode of Beneath the Palms tells the story behind the missing-person flyers, the dangerous winter surf, the four-day search, the recovery and DNA identification of Joey, and the unanswered questions surrounding Samantha, who remains missing.

This is not just a timeline. It is the story of two local kids who were loved before the world knew their names. Samantha was a student at Hawaii Technology Academy, an inline hockey player, and a coworker remembered for her positive energy. Joey had graduated in 2024, wanted to become a pilot, and was later mourned by his church community as a beloved parishioner.

The ocean may hold part of the answer. But Samantha’s family has continued asking the public to look again, check cameras, remember that night, and come forward with anything that might help bring her home.

If you know anything about Samantha Chun and Joseph Fujioka on the night of January 17, 2025, contact Honolulu CrimeStoppers at 808-955-8300 or submit a tip through the P3 Tips app.

Sources:

Loved ones share details on teens who went missing on Oahu’s North Shore

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/01/22/loved-ones-share-details-teens-who-went-missing-oahus-north-shore/

HPD: Remains found off Ke Iki Beach match DNA profile of missing teen

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/01/24/hpd-remains-found-off-ke-iki-beach-matches-dna-profile-missing-teen/

‘We haven’t given up.’ Missing teen’s parents urge public to keep searching

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/01/25/we-havent-given-up-missing-teens-parents-urge-public-keep-searching/

Family of missing teen offers $50K for safe return

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/02/20/family-missing-teen-offers-50k-safe-return/

Coast Guard suspends search for 2 missing swimmers off Oahu

https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4035681/coast-guard-suspends-search-for-2-missing-swimmers-off-oahu/

Search continues for missing teens on Oahu’s North Shore

https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2025-01-20/search-continues-for-missing-teens-on-oahus-north-shore

Remains found off Ke Iki Beach match DNA of missing Mililani teen

https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2025-01-24/ke-iki-beach-missing-mililani-teen

Remains found at Ke Iki Beach match teen who went missing

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/hi/hawaii/news/2025/01/24/missing-teen-joseph-fujioka

Teen Couple Vanished During Night Out on the Beach in Hawaii, Then Human Remains Were Found

https://people.com/missing-hawaii-teen-couple-search-is-suspended-remains-found-oahu-beach-8778455

Missing Teen Identified in Human Remains on Oahu

https://www.surfer.com/news/missing-teen-identified-human-remains-oahu

Dear Parish ‘Ohana

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFRTtKev5H2/

Resurrection of the Lord Life Teen

https://www.instagram.com/rol.lifeteen/

Honolulu Star-Advertiser print archive reports reviewed via Newspapers.com, Jan. 20, Jan. 21, Jan. 22, Jan. 25, and Jan. 26, 2025.

#SamanthaChun #JosephFujioka #HawaiiTrueCrime #MissingInHawaii #BeneathThePalms

She got in her car that night to help the father of her child. Not out of love—maybe out of duty. Maybe hope. Maybe just the part of her that still believed people were good.

She was five months pregnant. Her name was Carly Joann Scott—Charli, to everyone who loved her. And she never made it home.

What started as a missing persons case turned into something darker. Her SUV was found burned near the cliffs of Maui. Her dog was still inside. Alive, but shaking.

Then came the rest: her blood-stained skirt. A jawbone. A clump of hair. No body, no confession—just evidence scattered across the coastline. And a trail of phone pings that told their own story.

This episode revisits one of the most heartbreaking cases in Hawaii’s history—a woman whose life was taken, and whose family refused to let her name be forgotten. We explore the investigation, the landmark trial, and the law that now bears her name.

As of this recording, the Charli Alert is still pending in the Hawaii State Legislature.

House Bill 1192 would create a new alert system for missing adults—named in her memory.

If you live in Hawai‘i, contact your lawmakers. Ask them to move it forward.

Because silence shouldn't decide who gets a second chance.

⚠️ Listener discretion advised: this episode contains descriptions of violence, pregnancy loss, and emotional trauma.

If you have information about missing persons in Hawaii, contact Maui Police at (808) 244-6400 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 242-6966.

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If Charli’s story moved you, please follow Beneath the Palms, share this episode, and leave a review. Every action helps keep these stories alive.

🎵 Music: “Obsession” by Yoza – used with permission
📚 Sources: Trial transcripts, Maui News, Hawaii News Now, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, CBS News, AP, and public statements by Kimberlyn Scott.

Darkness may linger beneath the palms... but so does hope.

#CharliScott #CharliAlert #BeneathThePalms #TrueCrimePodcast #HawaiiTrueCrime #MissingWomen #ColdCaseHawaii #JusticeForCharli #UnsolvedMurders #DomesticViolenceAwareness #Keanae #MauiCrime #CharliScottMurder #BurnedSUV #BeneathThePalmsPodcast #HawaiiMysteries #CrimeStory #ErasedNotMissing #WomensVoices #JusticeDelayed #CharliDeservedBetter

Amber Jackson came to Kauai to build a life.

She loved the island. She restored homes, hiked its trails, walked her dogs on the beach, and surrounded herself with friends who became family. The people closest to her remember a woman who often said she was "living the dream."

Then, in June 2010, she disappeared.

When friends realized she had missed a dinner gathering and could not be reached, concern quickly turned into fear. Ten days later, Amber was found dead in a remote ravine in Kealia. Investigators determined the 57-year-old Hawaii State Teachers Association employee had been killed by blunt-force trauma to the head.

For more than fifteen years, her murder remained one of Kauai's most enduring unsolved homicide investigations.

Friends, family members, and the Amber Jackson Justice Group refused to let her case fade away. National television programs revisited the story. New forensic testing was conducted. Reward money was offered. Detectives continued to search for answers.

Then, on December 23, 2025, Kauai Police announced a major development. An arrest warrant was issued for Gregory Glaser, charging him with Murder in the Second Degree in connection with Amber's death.

In this fully revisited episode of Beneath the Palms, we move beyond the headlines to tell Amber's story from beginning to end. Not simply how she died, but how she lived, why she mattered, and why so many people fought for years to keep her name from being forgotten.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Kauai Police or Crime Stoppers Kauai.

SOURCES

Hawaii State Teachers Association – 9 Years After Kauai Woman's Brutal Murder, National Show Answers Family's Call for Help

https://www.hsta.org/news/recent-stories/9-years-after-kauai-womans-brutal-murder-national-show-answers-familys-call-for-help/

Kauai Now – Family of Murdered Amber Jackson Renew Call for Answers on 15th Anniversary of Her Death

https://kauainownews.com/2025/07/05/family-of-murdered-amber-jackson-renew-call-for-answers-on-15th-anniversary-of-her-death/

Hawaii News Now – Amber Jackson Cold Case Coverage

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com

The Garden Island – Amber Jackson Investigation Coverage

https://www.thegardenisland.com

Dateline NBC – Amber Jackson Case Reporting

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline

Unsolved Mysteries Podcast – Hawaiian Homicide

https://unsolved.com

Breaking Homicide – A Murder in Paradise

https://www.investigationdiscovery.com

Honolulu Star-Advertiser – Amber Jackson Reporting

https://www.staradvertiser.com

San Francisco Chronicle – Amber Jackson Obituary and Memorial Coverage

https://www.sfchronicle.com

Big Island Now – Gregory Martin Glaser Reporting

https://bigislandnow.com

Kauai Police Department – Amber Jackson Homicide Investigation Updates

https://www.kauai.gov

#AmberJackson #KauaiMurder #HawaiiTrueCrime #ColdCase #BeneathThePalms

A dog digging in black sand. A skull just beneath the surface.

On June 1st, 1999, the remains of 22-year-old Matthew Joel Peak were discovered on a remote beach in Waipio Valley, one of Hawaii’s most sacred—and isolated—places. A quiet drifter from San Francisco, Matthew had been living off the grid, hitchhiking between towns, sleeping in a makeshift shack. Weeks earlier, someone had strangled him and buried his body where the valley meets the sea.

Twenty-five years later, his murder remains unsolved.

This episode explores the haunting mystery of what happened in those final days of May 1999—and the broader story of how gentrification, displacement, and the myth of paradise can collide in silence.

⚠️ Listener discretion advised: this episode contains descriptions of homicide.

If you have any information about this case, contact Hawaii Police at (808) 961-2380 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.

—

If this story moved you, please follow Beneath the Palms on your favorite podcast platform, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review. It helps more people discover the forgotten stories of Hawaii.

🎵 Music: “Obsession” by Yoza – used with permission

📚 Sources: Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii News Now, local press, Big Island Thieves

Darkness may linger beneath the palms... but so does hope.

#TrueCrimePodcast, #UnsolvedMurder, #HawaiiCrime, #WaipioValley, #ColdCaseFiles, #BeneathThePalmsPodcast, #MatthewPeak, #HiloHawaii, #BlackSandBeach, #CrimeInParadise, #UnsolvedMystery, #BigIslandHawaii, #CrimeStory, #HawaiianHistory, #VanishedVoices, #JusticeForMatthew, #PodcastRecommendations, #OffTheGridLife, #GentrificationCrisis, #MissingAndMurdered

They found her in the cane fields.

Decomposed. Unclothed. Forgotten.

Michelle Anne Bensinger was just 24 when her body was discovered off Thompson Corner near Waialua, Oahu in August 1999 — likely dead for weeks. She was never reported missing. There were no headlines. No public outcry. Just a quiet line in a police log and a case that faded into silence.

But Michelle’s story is more than a cold case.

She may have worked — or even managed — an underground escort agency called Petite Pleasures. She may have been trying to leave. She may have known too much.

And just two weeks after she was found… another woman was discovered dead: Jubilee “Maile” Lum.

Two women. Two deaths. Two silences.

There’s no official link. But the overlap in timeline, proximity, and social circles is chilling.

Was Michelle’s death a warning?

A system that dismisses sex workers. A media that ignores marginalized women. A city that covers its brutality in palm trees and postcard views.

Twenty-five years later, no one has been held accountable.

So we’re telling her story now — because someone has to.

If you remember nothing else, remember this:

She was here. She mattered.

And her name was Michelle Anne Bensinger.

—

If you have any information — even small — about Michelle’s case, please contact:

🕵️‍♀️ Honolulu CrimeStoppers: (808) 955-8300
🌐 Submit an anonymous tip: honolulucrimestoppers.org

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🎶 Special thanks to Yoza for her haunting and soulful music in this episode.

🔗 Subscribe to Beneath the Palms on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts.
📺 YouTube: Beneath the Palms Podcast
📣 Follow & Share — Because these stories don’t survive unless we carry them forward.

—

Darkness may linger beneath the palms — but so does hope.

🩸In August of 1999, the body of a 21-year-old woman was found behind a Honolulu florist shop—naked, bound, and wrapped in trash bags.
Her name was Jubilee Lum. Her family called her Maile. And she wasn’t supposed to be forgotten.

She had asked for help.
She went to the police.
She told people she was scared.
But help never came.

Days later, her body was found in the heat—discarded like waste.
But Maile was not waste.
She was someone’s daughter. A sister. A survivor.
And she was four months pregnant.

In this episode of Beneath the Palms, we revisit one of Honolulu’s most disturbing cold cases—
not just to ask who killed her…
but to ask how we all let her fall through the cracks.

🔍 A breakdown of Maile’s final days—her movements, sightings, and sudden silence.
🚨 Details from the crime scene: how her body was discovered, what was missing, and what it all suggests.
🕵️‍♂️ The white van—and the man nobody could identify.
💔 Connections to Michelle Bensinger’s murder—another woman found bound and bagged two weeks earlier.
📉 Missed chances, systemic failure, and the weight of being labeled “high-risk.”
🧩 The serial killer theory that HPD never officially confirmed—but many still believe.
🫥 And the 2006 tip that reignited the case… before going cold again.

This isn’t just about how Jubilee Lum died.
It’s about everything she tried to say before the world went quiet.
And why it’s not too late to listen.

🎙️ Beneath the Palms is a true crime podcast that explores Hawaii’s hidden history—from unsolved murders and chilling disappearances to the darker stories that still echo across the islands.

📚 Sources & Credits:
Honolulu Police Department Cold Case Division – Archived investigation records and reports.
True Crime Diva – Independent case analysis and victim profile.
Hawaii News Now – Coverage of the case and public tips.
Crime Junkie – Comparative crime spotlight on Michelle Bensinger.
Uncovered.com – Cold case data and timeline documentation.
The families of Jubilee “Maile” Lum and Michelle Bensinger – In memory and in truth.

📅 New episodes drop every Thursday at 7AM HST.
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Audible.
🌴 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and updates: @BeneathThePalmsPodcast

Mahalo for listening—and for keeping these forgotten stories alive.
#TrueCrimePodcast #HawaiiTrueCrime #JubileeLum #ColdCaseHawaii #UnsolvedMurders #BeneathThePalms #WomenWhoVanished #HawaiiHistory #InvisibleVictims #MichelleBensinger #SerialKillerTheory #JusticeForMaile

The Disappearance of Commander Thomas C. Latimore: Pearl Harbor’s Unsolved Aiea Mystery

In July 1941, months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Thomas C. Latimore walked into the hills above Aiea on Oahu and never came back. He was not only a Navy commander and the commanding officer of USS Dobbin. He was also a husband, a father, and a man remembered for warmth, generosity, and steady friendship.

This episode follows the strongest documented record: Latimore’s final known hike, the intense Army and Navy search, the formal investigation that followed, and the later theories that grew in the silence he left behind. We stay with the facts where the facts hold, and we separate the confirmed record from wartime rumor and later speculation.

If you care about Pearl Harbor history, Hawaii history, military mysteries, unsolved disappearances, or forgotten prewar cases, this is one of the island’s most haunting stories. Thomas Latimore vanished before history changed forever, and his family never got him back.

Sources

THOMAS C. LATIMORE, JR., CDR, USN - U.S. Naval Academy Virtual Memorial Hall

Thomas C. Latimore - East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association

Japan’s Spy at Pearl Harbor: Memoir of an Imperial Navy Secret Agent - CIA, Studies in Intelligence

#ThomasCLatimore #PearlHarbor #HawaiiHistory #UnsolvedMystery #BeneathThePalms