Man beats mom’s 78-year-old landlord to death in ‘tenant dispute,’ Texas cops say

A Texas man is accused of fatally beating his mother’s 78-year-old landlord over a “landlord-tenant dispute,” deputies say.

Deputies responded to a call “regarding an injury to an elderly person” in rural Weslaco at 12:42 p.m. March 18, and arrived to find the victim, Vidal Cruz, with injuries to his face, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Cruz told deputies he felt faint, and that 29-year-old Cristian Puentes had attacked him. Cruz was taken to a hospital for treatment, but he died 10 days later on March 28. An autopsy determined blunt force trauma to the head caused his death, and the manner of death was homicide, according to the sheriff’s office.

Witnesses and surveillance video observed Cruz being kicked in the head by a man in a yellow shirt, whom deputies quickly identified as Puentes.

Puentes had started living with his mother shortly before the deadly attack occurred, Lt. Enrique Longoria told McClatchy News.

He was recently released from prison, Sheriff Eddie Guerra told KVEO. Puentes moved into his mom’s home just six days before Cruz showed up to collect rent money from her, which led to the dispute, Guerra said.

Deputies arrested Puentes the following day, March 19, “on unrelated warrants.”

Initially, he was charged with injury to an elderly person. But upon Cruz’s death, the charge against him was upgraded to murder, the sheriff’s office said. Puentes is being held at the Hidalgo County Jail on $1 million bond.

An investigation is ongoing and anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (956) 383-8114.

Weslaco, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, is a roughly 250-mile drive south from San Antonio.

This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Man beats mom’s 78-year-old landlord to death in ‘tenant dispute,’ Texas cops say."