A Weslaco man now has a $1 million bond after the man he’s accused of beating died last month.

Cristian Puentes,29, was initially booked into the Hidalgo County jail on Wednesday, March 19 on charges of injury to an elderly person, jail records show.

On Tuesday, he received an upgraded murder charge after the victim in the alleged assault died.

According to a Monday news release, deputies with the sheriff’s office responded to the 2900 block of Hermosillo Street in rural Weslaco on March 18. At the scene, a 78-year-old man identified as Vidal Cruz said he had been assaulted by Puentes due to a landlord-tenant dispute. Cruz was hospitalized after he reported feeling faint.

Witnesses said Cruz was kicked in the head, the release added. Puentes was arrested the following day and had his bond set at $500,000.

Investigators later learned that Cruz died. An autopsy indicated that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, ruling the manner of death as a homicide.

With the upgraded murder charge, Puentes faces up to life in prison.