. (Sept. 13) -- A meat cleaver-wielding man gunned down by police is believed to have been a mass murderer responsible for the grisly slayings of at least five people, including his own girlfriend, authorities say.

The bizarre story began to unravel full story »

(Sept. 13) -- A meat cleaver-wielding man gunned down by police is believed to have been a mass murderer responsible for the grisly slayings of at least five people, including his own girlfriend, authorities say.

The bizarre story began to unravel this weekend, when investigators in Northern California positively identified the body of Frederick Sales, a 35-year-old man who was found dead in his Hercules home on Sept. 9.



Hercules Police Department
Efren Valdemoro, who was killed by police following a high-speed chase, is believed to have killed at least five people in Northern California.Police found Sales' body while investigating the slaying of his father, 73-year-old Ricardo Sales. The elder Sales was found dead inside the same home on Aug. 28. The younger Sales was presumed missing. But during a search for additional evidence, police found Frederick Sales' body wrapped in plastic and stuffed inside a fake wall.

"The body was well-concealed ... and it evaded our detection," Hercules Police Chief Fred Deltorchio told the Contra Costa Times. "There was a modification made to make it look like there was a wall there."

Deltorchio acknowledged police should have found the second body earlier. "Obviously we did not conduct a good search the first time around," he said. "I'm very disappointed in the department's response, how we handled it."

The Contra Costa County Coroner's Office has not yet determined a cause of death for the younger Sales, but it has determined his father was bludgeoned to death.

The Saleses had been renting rooms in a home owned by Cindy Tran, 46. Her boyfriend, Efren Valdemoro, 38, was identified as the prime suspect in Ricardo Sales' slaying.

Valdemoro also became a suspect in two more gruesome murders when police found the bodies of two women in a home in Vallejo on Aug. 31.

The victims were identified as homeowner Segundina Allen, 63, and her friend Marcaria Smart, 60. Valdemoro had been living in Allen's Vallejo home, but friends said she had grown afraid of him. One of the victims was found inside a bedroom closet, while the other had been buried in a shallow grave, police said.

On the same day the women's bodies were found, the California Highway Patrol became engaged in a high-speed pursuit of Valdemoro. Tran was a passenger in Valdemoro's car and at one point talked to a friend on her cell phone. But at some point during the chase -- which reached speeds in excess of 100 mph -- Valdemoro strangled his girlfriend, police said.

The chase ended in a strip mall parking lot in Richmond. Police said Valdemoro exited his vehicle and lunged at them with two meat cleavers. When he refused to drop the knives, police shot and killed him.

Inside his car, police found Tran's body. Police said the officers chasing Valdemoro had no indication she was in danger.

"It was dark, and [the officers] were behind the vehicle," CHP Sgt. Trent Cross told The Associated Press. "They could see there were two occupants, but they didn't see any wild movement or anything like that."


Sponsored LinksTran owned and lived in the house where the Saleses were living. After her body was found, police went back to the home and found Frederick Sales' body on Sept. 9.

Valdemoro allegedly suspected his girlfriend was sleeping with one of the men.

Deputy District Attorney Mike Mullins was unavailable for comment today, but he did tell the AP that investigators are still examining all the evidence in the case.

"All options are still open at this time," Mullins said. "We are still trying to figure everything out."
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