David Ruiz, 39, allegedly attacked his uncle, 78-year-old Las Palapas founder Edward “Ron” Acosta, with a knife at a home, police say. Credit: Facebook / Kimble County Sheriff's Office

The California man accused of stabbing 78-year-old Las Palapas restaurant chain founder Edward “Ron” Acosta to death Tuesday was suffering a mental health crisis at the time of the attack, the Express-News reports, citing details from a family member.

Police on Wednesday confirmed to KSAT that David Ruiz, 39, is in custody for the homicide of Acosta, his uncle.

Ruiz had been living in Whittier, California, and didn’t have much contact with Acosta, Ruiz’s father James, 78, told the Express-News. He also told the daily his son was in the midst mental health crisis.

“I thought I was going to lose him to suicide,” James Ruiz said in an interview with the paper. “I never thought he’d hurt someone else — especially not Ronnie. He just completely snapped.”

James Ruiz said his left his California home Sunday to visit his cousin, Aaron Acosta, the son of the Las Palapas’ founder. Aaron Acosta lived with his father at his home in the 19200 block of Reata Trail in the Stone Oak area, the Express-News reports.

Ruiz’s father told the daily that his son was acting erratically before departing for San Antonio and hadn’t slept for in days. The younger Ruiz also may have been smoking methamphetamine in the days leading up to his trip to San Antonio, his father told the Express-News.

Edward Acosta invited David Ruiz to stay at his home during his time here. However, when he arrived Tuesday morning, things took a turn for the worse, according to the newspaper.

A housekeeper dispatched police to Acosta’s home at around 11 a.m. Tuesday for an assault in progress, according to KSAT. The housekeeper told dispatchers there was “blood all around” the victim. Investigators said that the younger Ruiz stabbed the victim multiple times and that Acosta “bled out while lying in the garage,” the station reports.

The suspect then fled the scene, according to authorities. After police notified James Ruiz about the incident, the father texted his son and told him to turn himself in, according to the Express-News.

The suspect reportedly denied killing Acosta and replied to his father’s text by saying, “You’re crazy.”

Police later detained David Ruiz at a truck stop in Kimble County, about 100 miles northwest of San Antonio, according the multiple news reports. Ruiz is expected to be extradited to Bexar County on a murder charge, authorities said.

Acosta founded Tex-Mex chain Las Palapas in 1981, growing it to multiple locations around South and Central Texas. He sold a majority stake in the company to new owner Wayne Detmar in 2020, the San Antonio Business Journal reports.

“He was a strong guy. A very, very strong guy,” James Ruiz told the Express-News of his brother-in-law. “This is the tragedy of all tragedies.”

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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...