Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Suspected Serial Killer Pleads Not Guilty

Joseph Naso presents short statement to judge.

UPDATE: 2:19 p.m.

Accused serial killer Joseph Naso this morning challenged the "accuracy and legitimacy" of photos of women the prosecution claims are the probable cause for his arrest on the that have been filed against him.

Naso, 77, who was a , is charged with killing four women, whose bodies were found in Yuba, Marin and Contra Costa counties between 1977 and 1994. He pleaded not guilty to the charges this morning.

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Nevada investigators recovered photos of scantily dressed women in Naso's home in Reno, Nev., last year while Naso was in the El Dorado County Jail serving a sentence for violating his probation.

One of the murdered women, Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland, reportedly was partially dressed and bound when her body was found in Fairfax in 1977.

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The Marin County District Attorney's Office said Naso was not among the leads generated in the investigation of the Roggasch murder and no charges were filed against him at that time.

"Evidence discovered in 2010 generated a fresh investigative effort," Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian said in a news release last month. "This more recent investigation uncovered evidence linking Naso to the murder of Roxene Roggasch."

Naso was arrested for the four murders by .

He said today the provocative photos recovered from his home do not depict women "in forced poses, forced bondage or being deceased."

Citing four documents in the probable cause statement for his arrest and detention, Naso asked Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet to , dismiss the murders complaint against him and release him from jail.

Sweet did not set a date for a hearing on the motion to dismiss the complaint. The judge set the week of July 11 for Naso's preliminary hearing after the district attorney's office said it could take seven days.

Sweet also ruled that a questionnaire Naso filled out as part of his is part of the court record and will be available to the public.

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12:36 p.m.

pleaded not guilty this morning in Marin County Superior Court to murdering four Northern California women between 1977 and 1994.

Naso, 77, also denied the special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders.

In a brief statement, Naso asked Judge Andrew Sweet to dismiss the complaint against him and order him released.

Naso said none of the photos found in his home in Reno, Nev., show the four alleged murder victims "in forced poses, forced bondage or being deceased." Naso said the women posed under free will.

Sweet instructed Naso to file a motion to dismiss the complaint in writing.

Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana said she will respond in writing to Naso's written motion by Wednesday.

Sweet set Naso's preliminary hearing for the week of July 11 after, the Marin County District Attorney's Office said the hearing could take seven days. 

Naso is suspected of killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland, whose body was found on Jan. 10, 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.

- Bay City News


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