Crime & Safety

Jury Convicts Former Piedmont Resident Joseph Naso of Killing Four Women

Naso and his family lived in Piedmont during the 1970s.

By Bay City News Service

A Marin County jury has found Joseph Naso guilty of killing four women in the Bay Area and Yuba County between 1977 and 1994.

After about five and a half hours of deliberations, the jury convicted Naso of four counts of first-degree murder, as well as the special circumstance of committing multiple murders, which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

Naso, 79, did not visibly react when the verdict was read at about 2:20 p.m.

He represented himself in the trial, which began in mid-June, with the help of an advisory counsel.

The jury convicted him of killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland, and Carmen Colon, a 22-year-old East Bay resident.

Roggasch was found dead off of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard west of Fairfax on Jan. 11, 1977.

Colon's body was found near Carquinez Scenic Drive in Port Costa in Contra Costa County on Aug. 15, 1978.

Naso, a former commercial photographer, was also found guilty of the murders of Pamela Parsons, 38, and Tracy Tafoya, 31, whose bodies were found in Yuba County in September 1993 and August 1994, respectively.

All four women are believed to have worked as prostitutes.

Deputy District Attorney Rosemary Slote told jurors in her closing argument that Naso picked the women up in his car, then later strangled them and disposed of their bodies.

Naso's DNA was found in semen collected from the pantyhose Roggasch was wearing when her body was found, prosecutors said.

Evidence against him included a handwritten list that prosecutors allege refers to at least seven women, including the four victims and some of the locations where their bodies were found.

During the trial, the prosecution presented 70 witnesses, and Naso called seven to the stand.

The jury began deliberating on Monday afternoon.

A separate penalty phase of the trial will determine whether Naso will face the death penalty.

Naso lived in Piedmont with his wife and sons during the 1970s. You can read more about Naso's life in Piedmont here.You can read more about Naso's life in Piedmont here.

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