UPDATE: Thousands of Pages Turned Over to Suspected Serial Killer

UPDATE:

 Accused serial killer Joseph Naso has a lot of reading to do.

At a hearing in Marin County Superior Court this morning, Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian disclosed the prosecution has provided Naso 5,657 pages of discovery material relevant to the four murder charges it has filed against him and will deliver an additional 7,000 pages of discovery within the next three weeks.

Naso, 77, of Reno, Nev., is charged with killing four women, including one each in Marin and Contra Costa counties, between 1977 and 1994. He is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges Friday morning.

On May 6, Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew E. Sweet approved . He is thereby entitled to receive the voluminous discovery material about the case.

Also included in the discovery material are CDs and DVDs. Naso told Sweet this morning some of the audio on the discs is of poor quality and that he cannot understand what is being said. He said an investigator who provided the discs told him, "You have to take it as it comes."

Sweet said the discs are copies of what is in the prosecution's possession and that those discs could also be of poor quality.

Naso has also asked for the return of "legal papers" that were taken from him when he was arrested in South Lake Tahoe on April 11.

The papers were among items in a black bag. Naso said they include a half-dozen manila envelopes containing handwritten notes from correspondence with attorneys and the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

"I was warned about this case from outside sources a year ago," he told the judge.

Sweet ordered the legal papers returned to Naso and allowed the prosecution to give copies of any non-legal papers to Naso. Berberian said CDs containing photos have already been returned to Naso.

Sweet delayed a ruling on whether the document regarding the probable cause for filing the murder charges should be unsealed. He said he would issue a written opinion "shortly."

Media including the Associated Press, Bay Area News Group, Nevada County Publishing Inc., Sierra Nevada Media group and KTVU have asked Sweet to unseal the document, claiming it is part of the judicial proceedings and should be a public document.

Marin County Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana argued this morning the document is not part of the public record. She said probable cause determinations are part of an informal, non-adversarial process where normal rules of evidence do not apply.

Naso told the court he also wants the document sealed. He said he fears the information in the document may be "misinterpreted."

"I've seen reports that are a little adverse to me and what this case is about," he said.

He said there have been distortions and false accounts about him in the media that could affect his preliminary hearing and trial.

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1:30 p.m.

Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet delayed a decision this morning on whether to unseal a probable cause document that was the basis for .

Naso is suspected of killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland, whose body was found on Jan. 11, 1977, on White's Hill near Fairfax, and Carmen Colon, 22, who was found dead near Port Costa in Contra Costa County in 1978.

He is also accused in the deaths of Pamela Parsons, 38, and Tracey Tafoya, 31, who were killed in Yuba County in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

The Marin County District Attorney's Office wants the document to remain sealed, and claims it is not a part of the judicial proceeding that should be public.

"These documents are not judicial records subject to procedural rules," Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana said.

Duffy Carolan, an attorney who represents several media outlets that want the document unsealed, said the prosecution has the burden of proof to show there is probable cause for filing the murder charges against Naso.

"These are not judge's notes. Everything submitted about this proceeding is a court record," Carolan said.

Naso, 77, who is r, told the judge he agrees the document should remain sealed. He is representing himself and is scheduled to enter a plea Friday morning.

Sweet took the matter under submission and said he would issue a written ruling "shortly."

- Bay City News