Man Dies After Being Jailed in Son’s Death

A 71-year-old Orange man in custody since July 5 on charges that he fatally shot his son during a family argument died Saturday at Western Medical Center, authorities said.

Edward Rivas was being treated at the hospital for a terminal illness that he had before his arrest, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said. He did not elaborate.

Rivas was arrested on suspicion of murder after his son, Edward Rivas Jr., 37, was found in the family’s frontyard, bleeding from gunshot wounds to his chest and hip and stab wounds to his neck and abdomen, police said.

He was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead.

The elder Rivas, who had stabbed himself in the abdomen during the argument, was treated at another hospital and booked into Orange County Jail. He apparently had been receiving medical care for his illness for a few weeks, officials said.