East Bay Police Follow Trail of Bodies
Two men at center of murder mystery had fraught relationship
The two men at the center of a twisted East Bay murder investigation had a close but volatile 10-year relationship that frequently involved police, authorities revealed at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
According to California Highway Patrol sergeant Trent Cross, murder suspect Efren Valdemoro, 38, frequently stayed at the home of Charles Rittenhouse, 72, and his wife Segundina Allen, 63, and at one point even owned a house key.
Suspected in the death of an elderly Hercules man, Valdemoro was shot and killed by officers Tuesday night after leading California Highway Patrol officers on a chase and threatening them with a knife. He’s now believed responsible for the deaths of four others, including Allen.
Over 10 years, Rittenhouse and Allen allowed Valdemoro to borrow their car and live off-and-on at their home. But on occasion, the three would also argue, resulting in 10 police visits to the house.
According to the Associated Press, the husband of one of the slain women said Allen had grown scared of Valdemoro and had wanted to change the locks at her home in recent weeks to keep Valdemoro out.
“His key would be taken away. He would break into the house. He would use the car with permission, without permission,” Cross said. “There were disturbances involving all three parties.”
The bodies of Allen and her friend Marcaria Smart, 60, were found in the couple’s home Tuesday afternoon, and so far police have identified only Valdemoro as a potential suspect in their deaths. Rittenhouse was arrested after authorities found bomb-making materials in his house, but he has not been charged in connection to the murders.
The murder investigation has led police on a twisted path.
It began Saturday night in Hercules when 73-year-old Ricardo Sales was found bludgeoned to death in his bedroom. Police are currently looking for Sales’ son, Frederick Sales, 35, who they believe may also be dead.
A week earlier, Hercules police had been called to the Sales’ home after the father, son and Valdemoro got into a fight. The Sales rented from and lived with Valdemoro's girlfriend, Cindy Tran, who also owned the house, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Meanwhile, 17 miles away in Vallejo, police were investigating the deaths of Smart and Allen, who were reported missing Sunday. When investigators arrived at Allen’s home Tuesday afternoon, they found one body in the backyard and another inside the house. Both were badly decomposed.
Hercules police spotted Valdemoro Tuesday near Sales' and Tran's house in Allen’s white Cadillac Escalade. Considering Valdemoro a prime suspect in Sales’ death, California Highway Patrol officers spotted Valdemoro later that night in Tran's Acura.
Officers tried to pull him over, but Valdemoro sped off, leading them on a chase that ended at a Richmond strip mall, where he ran into a Ranch 99 market and brandished a large knife. When he refused to drop the weapon, California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed Valdemoro. The dead body of 46-year-old Tran was found in the passenger seat of the vehicle.
Cross said autopsies are scheduled for tomorrow. Smart and Allen had been dead for days, he said, but the examination will help investigators piece together a timeline.
Among the new information released Wednesday was Rittenhouse’s employment as a chemical engineer near Fairfield. Police said the explosive materials may have came from his workplace. While Rittenhouse was arrested on explosives charges, police said the materials were not a danger to anyone.
“When we located the chemicals they were in a stable state,” said Cross. Detectives are still investigating if and how Rittenhouse may have been involved in the murders.
“We don’t have enough info at this point to charge him with anything other than for the explosives he had at his residence," Cross said. "At this point we’ll continue the murder investigation, and if there’s anything related to the murders with Mr. Rittenhouse, in any way, he will be arrested and charged for it.”
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