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Right before the trial of an Edinburg man who beat his girlfriend to death in 2021, he decided to plead guilty.
The jury trial for 55-year-old Adan Roberto Ruiz Jr. was set to begin Monday but before it began, Ruiz decided to plead guilty and received 20 years in prison for the murder of 47-year-old Yvonne Salas, according to court documents.
A probable cause affidavit stated that the murder occurred on Dec. 7, 2021.
A police officer was dispatched to the 1400 block of North Closner Boulevard in Edinburg around 5 p.m. that Tuesday after receiving a report of an assaulted, unresponsive woman.
Medical personnel were already at the scene and made contact with Ruiz who called 9-1-1 after he discovered Salas unresponsive once he arrived home.
Salas was lying on her back, arms spread, dressed in all black and without a pulse in the kitchen area. According to the affidavit, she was cold to the touch.
Authorities noticed that Salas’ eyes were cloudy and had red spots which indicated broken blood vessels. In addition, she had a cut above her left eyebrow, a bloody nose, swollen face and blood dripping out of her mouth, police said in the affidavit.
A search of the residence revealed that no one else was at the location. Ruiz was the only one with a key to the residence and he had it with him during the investigation.
During the investigation, another officer interviewed Ruiz who then identified Salas as his girlfriend and began displaying signs of intoxication, the affidavit said.
That officer concluded that Ruiz was the last person to see Salas alive in the morning before her body was found. Ruiz couldn’t provide any estimated times.
The only information Ruiz was able to provide was that his neighbor, Douglas Henry Cliburn, also known as “Numbers,” and his girlfriend were “partying and doing crystal meth,” but didn’t provide when or what time this occurred.
Ruiz kept accusing Cliburn of providing Salas crystal meth and that he was waiting for him to arrive home to hurt Cliburn, according to the affidavit.
During questioning, Cliburn was able to provide an alibi for his whereabouts and was cleared as a suspect.
Ruiz was then detained for public intoxication.
Because Salas had dark marks around the bruises on her face, which were suspected to have been caused by a ring Ruiz was wearing at the time, it was later collected as evidence from his property.
Police discovered blood on the walls near the rear bedroom and hallway of the home as well as blood smeared on the doorway leading to the bedroom and large amounts of Salas’ hair was also found leading into the kitchen, the affidavit said.
Near her body, a pillowcase holding four different shirts and a bra was found with the articles of clothing covered in large amounts of bloodstains.
According to the document, police believe Ruiz cleaned himself up before their arrival.
The document goes on to state that Salas’ niece was also interviewed by police and admitted that Ruiz had punched and pulled her hair multiple times, but never reported the assaults because she feared him.
The niece also stated that Ruiz was threatening Salas and would tell her that if she left him he would kill her family in front of her and then her, the affidavit said.
