Crime & Safety
Jury Sentences Convicted Serial Killer Joseph Naso to Death
Naso and his family lived in Piedmont during the 1970s.
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 17, 9:30 p.m.
By Bay City News Service
SUMMARY
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A Marin County Superior Court jury sentenced convicted serial killer Joseph Naso, a former Piedmont resident, to death Tuesday.
The verdict was read at 3:45 p.m. in Department F in San Rafael.
Naso, 79, of Reno, Nev., was convicted Aug. 20 of strangling Roxene Roggasch, Tracy Tafoya, Pamela Parsons and Carmen Colon. Their bodies were found off of rural roads in Contra Costa, Marin and Yuba counties between 1977 and 1994.
The jury started deliberations at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after Judge Andrew Sweet allowed Naso to reopen his closing argument, which he had completed Monday.
Naso addressed the jury for about six minutes and again asked them not to impose the death penalty. He would have faced life without parole if the jury did not recommend the death penalty.
Naso, 79, of Reno, Nev., a former Piedmont resident, was stoic when the death sentence decision was read Tuesday around 4 p.m., about 24 hours after he told the full panel that included nine alternate jurors, "I wish I had a group picture of you. I thank you and wish you well."
Naso's advisory counsel, Deputy Public Defender Pedro Oliveros, said he had "braced" Naso for the death penalty verdict.
"He was prepared for both resolutions," Oliveros said.
After deliberating 5 1/2 hours on Aug. 20, the jury convicted Naso of the murders that occurred between 1977 and 1994.
The panel deliberated three hours Tuesday before agreeing on the death penalty. The alternative was life in prison without parole.
The death sentence applies to three of the slain women, Carmen Colon, 22, Pamela Parsons, 38, and 31-year-old Tracy Tafoya. The death penalty was not in effect in California when the body of 18-year-old Roxene Roggasch was found near Fairfax in January 1977.
Prosecutors Dori Ahana and Rosemary Slote presented what seemed like endless evidence, much of it found in Naso's Reno home after his arrest in April 2010, that connected Naso to the strangulations of the four women who worked as prostitutes.
It included photos Naso took of women dressed in lingerie and heels who appeared dead or unconscious.
Naso admitted during the trial his fetish for photographing women in nylons and high heels.
The evidence also included Naso's and his ex-wife Judith's DNA that were found on two of the four pairs of pantyhose on Roggasch's body.
Photos of Parsons, who Naso admitted photographing after he picked her up hitchhiking, and newspaper stories about her and Tafoya's deaths in Yuba County, were found in Naso's home.
Naso, who told the jury he was a "packrat" and a collector, kept a handwritten "list of 10" that contained references to 10 "girls" Naso is believed to have killed, where they were from or where he dumped their bodies.
The bodies of the four women Naso killed were found in Marin, Contra Costa and Yuba counties.
Naso also kept what the prosecution called a "rape diary" in which Naso described picking up and sexually assaulting women in various cities over several decades.
Dr. Park Dietz, a well-known forensic psychiatrist, testified Naso fit the profile of sexually sadistic killers and rapists who save "mementos" of his victims that can include clothing, news articles and photos.
He said the killers and rapists prey on vulnerable and trusting women such as prostitutes and sometimes pose as photographers to lure their victims for their own sexual gratification.
Throughout the trial Naso insisted he was an accomplished working commercial photographer, a family man and a good father to his son.
He called the rape diaries "date diaries" and said only two of his "dates" filed complaints about his behavior in 1958 and in 1961.
He said the presence of his DNA on the pantyhose found on Roggasch's body meant only that he might have had sex with her.
"But I don't remember," he said.
During the main trial, the prosecution also presented evidence it said links Naso to the murder of a Bob Dylan groupie, Sara Dylan, whose skull was found in Nevada County in 1992.
Naso was not charged with her murder, but a reference to her is on the list of 10 and Naso had her passport and driver's license.
The penalty phase of the trial that started Sept. 4 included evidence suggesting Naso killed Sharieea Patton, 56, whose body was found on Jan. 14, 1981, on the shore of San Francisco Bay near a sewage treatment plant.
Patton lived in an apartment complex at 839 Leavenworth St. in San Francisco where Naso worked as a resident manager around the time of her death.
Naso had a photograph of a model posing in a rabbit fur coat that Patton's daughter said her mother had owned. Patton's 839 Leavenworth St. address is included on the list of 10.
Ahana and Slote also presented testimony about Naso's attempted sexual assault of a Piedmont woman who was his neighbor in the late 1970's.
Naso's ex-wife testified she believes Naso drugged her and took her to a hotel in San Francisco in the 1960s. She said two men sexually assaulted her while Naso watched.
The prosecution's evidence at the penalty phase of the trial was presented as aggravating factors to support the death penalty.
Naso's evidence in mitigation of the death penalty included his military service, membership in the American Legion, his service as a Cub Scoutmaster and Little League coach, serving as conservator and guardian of his son, and his commercial photography business which he said brought joy to many people.
In a written statement after the death penalty decision Tuesday, Naso said he is pleased the jury listened to his argument in mitigation. He also said he wants to help other inmates in prison.
"I'm on the threshold of a new life and I will make the best of it," he said.
"He feels it's his role to be a fatherly figure and to help younger inmates on Death Row," Oliveros said.
"He's not admitting his guilt. He still believes the prosecution did not prove their case. He still feels he is not guilty," Oliveros said.
On Friday, Judge Andrew Sweet will set a date to sentence Naso.
The verdict was read at 3:45 p.m. in Department F in San Rafael.
Naso, 79, of Reno, Nev., was convicted Aug. 20 of strangling Roxene Roggasch, Tracy Tafoya, Pamela Parsons and Carmen Colon. Their bodies were found off of rural roads in Contra Costa, Marin and Yuba counties between 1977 and 1994.
The jury started deliberations at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after Judge Andrew Sweet allowed Naso to reopen his closing argument, which he had completed Monday.
Naso addressed the jury for about six minutes and again asked them not to impose the death penalty. He would have faced life without parole if the jury did not recommend the death penalty.
DETAILS
Naso, 79, of Reno, Nev., a former Piedmont resident, was stoic when the death sentence decision was read Tuesday around 4 p.m., about 24 hours after he told the full panel that included nine alternate jurors, "I wish I had a group picture of you. I thank you and wish you well."
Naso's advisory counsel, Deputy Public Defender Pedro Oliveros, said he had "braced" Naso for the death penalty verdict.
"He was prepared for both resolutions," Oliveros said.
After deliberating 5 1/2 hours on Aug. 20, the jury convicted Naso of the murders that occurred between 1977 and 1994.
The panel deliberated three hours Tuesday before agreeing on the death penalty. The alternative was life in prison without parole.
The death sentence applies to three of the slain women, Carmen Colon, 22, Pamela Parsons, 38, and 31-year-old Tracy Tafoya. The death penalty was not in effect in California when the body of 18-year-old Roxene Roggasch was found near Fairfax in January 1977.
Prosecutors Dori Ahana and Rosemary Slote presented what seemed like endless evidence, much of it found in Naso's Reno home after his arrest in April 2010, that connected Naso to the strangulations of the four women who worked as prostitutes.
It included photos Naso took of women dressed in lingerie and heels who appeared dead or unconscious.
Naso admitted during the trial his fetish for photographing women in nylons and high heels.
The evidence also included Naso's and his ex-wife Judith's DNA that were found on two of the four pairs of pantyhose on Roggasch's body.
Photos of Parsons, who Naso admitted photographing after he picked her up hitchhiking, and newspaper stories about her and Tafoya's deaths in Yuba County, were found in Naso's home.
Naso, who told the jury he was a "packrat" and a collector, kept a handwritten "list of 10" that contained references to 10 "girls" Naso is believed to have killed, where they were from or where he dumped their bodies.
The bodies of the four women Naso killed were found in Marin, Contra Costa and Yuba counties.
Naso also kept what the prosecution called a "rape diary" in which Naso described picking up and sexually assaulting women in various cities over several decades.
Dr. Park Dietz, a well-known forensic psychiatrist, testified Naso fit the profile of sexually sadistic killers and rapists who save "mementos" of his victims that can include clothing, news articles and photos.
He said the killers and rapists prey on vulnerable and trusting women such as prostitutes and sometimes pose as photographers to lure their victims for their own sexual gratification.
Throughout the trial Naso insisted he was an accomplished working commercial photographer, a family man and a good father to his son.
He called the rape diaries "date diaries" and said only two of his "dates" filed complaints about his behavior in 1958 and in 1961.
He said the presence of his DNA on the pantyhose found on Roggasch's body meant only that he might have had sex with her.
"But I don't remember," he said.
During the main trial, the prosecution also presented evidence it said links Naso to the murder of a Bob Dylan groupie, Sara Dylan, whose skull was found in Nevada County in 1992.
Naso was not charged with her murder, but a reference to her is on the list of 10 and Naso had her passport and driver's license.
The penalty phase of the trial that started Sept. 4 included evidence suggesting Naso killed Sharieea Patton, 56, whose body was found on Jan. 14, 1981, on the shore of San Francisco Bay near a sewage treatment plant.
Patton lived in an apartment complex at 839 Leavenworth St. in San Francisco where Naso worked as a resident manager around the time of her death.
Naso had a photograph of a model posing in a rabbit fur coat that Patton's daughter said her mother had owned. Patton's 839 Leavenworth St. address is included on the list of 10.
Ahana and Slote also presented testimony about Naso's attempted sexual assault of a Piedmont woman who was his neighbor in the late 1970's.
Naso's ex-wife testified she believes Naso drugged her and took her to a hotel in San Francisco in the 1960s. She said two men sexually assaulted her while Naso watched.
The prosecution's evidence at the penalty phase of the trial was presented as aggravating factors to support the death penalty.
Naso's evidence in mitigation of the death penalty included his military service, membership in the American Legion, his service as a Cub Scoutmaster and Little League coach, serving as conservator and guardian of his son, and his commercial photography business which he said brought joy to many people.
In a written statement after the death penalty decision Tuesday, Naso said he is pleased the jury listened to his argument in mitigation. He also said he wants to help other inmates in prison.
"I'm on the threshold of a new life and I will make the best of it," he said.
"He feels it's his role to be a fatherly figure and to help younger inmates on Death Row," Oliveros said.
"He's not admitting his guilt. He still believes the prosecution did not prove their case. He still feels he is not guilty," Oliveros said.
On Friday, Judge Andrew Sweet will set a date to sentence Naso.
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.
Find out what's happening in Piedmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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