Jurors Tear Up During Trial For 'Double Initial' Murder Suspect
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — Jurors in the trial of a 79-year-old man charged with the decades-old slayings of four women in Northern California wiped tears from their eyes on Monday, as a prosecutor showed images of the victims' bodies and described how they were discovered.
Marin County prosecutor Rosemary Slote showed the images during her opening statement in the trial of Joseph Naso. In one, a young woman had nylon stockings stuffed in her mouth and another pair tied around her neck.
Naso has pleaded not guilty to killing the four women — all prostitutes with matching initials: 18-year-old Roxene Roggasch in 1977; 22-year-old Carmen Colon in 1978; 38-year-old Pamela Parsons in 1993; and 31-year-old Tracy Tafoya in 1994, which led to the "Double Initial' moniker for the killings. He is representing himself and is expected to make his opening statement later on Monday.
Naso, wearing a suit instead of his usual jail clothes, watched the prosecutor's presentation with little reaction.
Prosecutors have painted Naso as a "sexual deviant" who drugged and photographed his unconscious victims, then strangled them and dumped their naked bodies in rural areas.
Slote also read from sections of a diary found at Naso's home that detailed violent rapes of women.
In a 1961 entry, the journal describes a man picking a girl up and raping her in a car in the Berkeley Hills.
"I pulled up her skirt and put it to her," Slote said, reading from the journal.
Naso was arrested at the time on suspicion of assault. Prosecutors say the woman named in that entry will testify about the incident.
Authorities around the country have also looked at Naso as a suspect in cold cases, but none have thus far come to light.
Marin County prosecutors have built a significant case against Naso and are seeking the death penalty.
Investigators discovered DNA matching Naso's profile on at least one victim, Roggasch.
Also discovered were photographs — including images of at least one of the victims in the case — and what prosecutors called a "rape journal" during a search of Naso's Reno, Nev., house.
Naso characterized the sadistic photographs as his art and said all of his "models" were willing participants.
Near the pile of photos in Naso's home — with mannequin parts and women's lingerie strewn about — investigators said they also found a "List of 10" he had scrawled with descriptions of 10 women, including four references prosecutors believe describe the slaying victims in this case.
There is no indication that any of the six other women referred to on the list have been identified, but prosecutors have said the investigation is ongoing.
Investigators testified previously that Naso kept $152,400 in cash, along with news clippings covering the slayings of Parsons and Tafoya, and other personal items from women, in a safe deposit box.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
