Murder Victim's Husband in Court for TNT Charges

The husband of a woman whose death is among five bodies linked to a Northern California murder suspect has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor explosives possession.

Solano County prosecutors told the Vallejo Times Herald on Friday that the chemicals found at 72-year-old Charles Rittenhouse's Vallejo home were in small quantities and connected to his work, leading them to settle the case.

Rittenhouse was arrested on Aug. 31 after police discovered the bodies of his wife, Segundina Allen, and her friend, Marcaria Smart, at his home. The bodies have been linked to 38-year-old Efren Valdemoro, the suspect in a string of killings that began in August.

Authorities say Valdemoro killed his girlfriend and a father and son who lived at her Hercules residence.

He also knew Allen and Smart and had stayed at Allen's home.