Joseph Naso — The Double Initial Killer

The Case

Joseph Naso is a convicted California serial killer who murdered at least four women between 1977 and 1994 in a series of crimes that went unsolved for decades. Born January 7, 1934, Naso earned the chilling nicknames "Crazy Joe" and "the Double Initial Killer" due to a distinctive pattern among his victims: many shared matching first and last initials. The former commercial photographer from Reno, Nevada, was found guilty in 2013 by a Marin County Superior Court jury and sentenced to death for four counts of first-degree murder. His case represents one of the most disturbing examples of a serial predator who documented his own crimes through photographs and written records.

The breakthrough in the cold cases came not through traditional detective work, but during a routine probation check in 2010. Naso had been living in Reno and was on probation for petty theft when Nevada authorities made a discovery that would finally connect decades-old murders. What officers found in his home would expose a pattern of violence spanning nearly twenty years and potentially link him to additional unsolved killings beyond the four murders for which he was ultimately convicted.

The Crime

Prosecutors established that Naso employed a calculated method to overpower and kill his victims. He drugged and photographed women before strangling them to death. The photographic documentation was particularly disturbing—Naso, who worked as a commercial photographer, used his skills to create a grotesque record of his crimes. The women were photographed in various states of undress while unconscious, creating evidence that would ultimately be used against him in court.

The murders spanned seventeen years, suggesting a killer who operated with patience and careful selection of victims. The so-called "double initial" pattern emerged as investigators linked the cases: victims whose first and last names began with the same letter. This signature element helped authorities eventually connect murders that had remained unsolved in different jurisdictions across California.

Naso's modus operandi revealed a predator who combined preparation with opportunity. He maintained what prosecutors described as a "rape diary" that documented his crimes and fantasies. This journal, along with photographs and other mementos, demonstrated a killer who not only committed murders but obsessively catalogued and relived them. The diary entries provided chilling insight into the mind of a serial offender who viewed his victims as objects to be collected and documented.

The Victims

The four women murdered by Joseph Naso and confirmed through his Marin County conviction were:

Roxene Roggasch was found dead in 1977, marking the beginning of what would become a long series of unsolved murders. Though specific details about her age and background are limited in court records, she was identified as a young California woman whose death remained mysterious for more than three decades.

Carmen Colon was discovered in 1978. Her name fit the double-initial pattern that would later help investigators link multiple cases to a single perpetrator. The circumstances of her death mirrored patterns that would emerge in subsequent murders.

Pamela Parsons was found in 1993, after a fifteen-year gap following Carmen Colon's murder. This lengthy interval between confirmed victims raised questions about whether Naso had committed additional murders during this period that remained undiscovered or unconnected to him.

Tracy Tafoya, age 31, was discovered in 1994 in Marysville, Yuba County, California. She would be the last victim definitively linked to Naso through the Marin County prosecution, though investigators have continued examining cold cases that may bear his signature.

Beyond these four confirmed victims, later cold-case investigations have explored potential connections to additional murders. Reports have mentioned Charlotte Cooke, 19, among other possible victims, though these cases were not part of the original Marin conviction. The true scope of Naso's killing may never be fully known, as investigators continue reviewing unsolved cases from the decades when he was active.

Investigation

The break in the case came on an ordinary day in April 2010. Nevada parole and probation authorities conducted a routine compliance check at Joseph Naso's Reno home. What they discovered transformed cold cases spanning decades into an active serial killer investigation. Officers found numerous photographs of unconscious women in various states of undress, immediately raising alarm.

The search expanded beyond the photographs. Investigators discovered the so-called "rape diary," a handwritten journal containing entries that appeared to document sexual assaults and murders. The diary included details that matched known unsolved cases, providing crucial links between crimes committed years apart in different California counties.

Forensic evidence proved critical to building the prosecution's case. DNA matching Naso's profile was found on at least one victim. Additionally, investigators recovered a partial DNA match from material collected under another victim's fingernails, suggesting she had fought her attacker. This biological evidence, preserved for years in evidence lockers, finally had a suspect to match against.

A safe-deposit box yielded additional evidence. Inside, investigators found victim-related items, news clippings about the murders, more photographs, and a large amount of cash. The collection of newspaper articles suggested Naso had followed media coverage of the investigations into his crimes, keeping track of how close authorities might be getting to identifying him.

The investigation required coordination across multiple California jurisdictions, as the murders had occurred in different counties over nearly two decades. Cold case detectives reviewed files from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, looking for connections they couldn't have seen before DNA technology and the physical evidence from Naso's home provided new investigative threads to follow.

Trial and Verdict

Joseph Naso's trial in Marin County Superior Court began in 2013, more than three decades after his first known murder. Prosecutors presented a comprehensive case built on physical evidence, DNA matches, the rape diary, photographs, and the collection of victim-related mementos found in Naso's possession.

The photographic evidence proved particularly powerful. Jurors saw images that prosecutors argued showed unconscious or deceased women, taken by Naso himself. These photographs, combined with the diary entries and DNA evidence, created a narrative of a serial predator who documented his own crimes.

Naso's defense faced the challenge of explaining the overwhelming physical evidence linking him to the victims. The DNA matches, in particular, provided scientific certainty that connected him directly to the crime scenes or victims' bodies.

On August 20, 2013, the Marin County jury delivered guilty verdicts on four counts of first-degree murder. The convictions encompassed the deaths of Roxene Roggasch, Carmen Colon, Pamela Parsons, and Tracy Tafoya—murders spanning from 1977 to 1994.

Three months later, on November 22, 2013, the judge imposed the death sentence. At 79 years old at the time of sentencing, Naso joined California's death row, where he remains today. The sentence brought legal closure to four families who had waited decades for justice, though it could not restore the years lost to uncertainty and grief.

Today

Joseph Naso remains on death row in California, where executions have been subject to a gubernatorial moratorium. Now in his nineties, he is among the oldest inmates in California's prison system. The 2013 conviction resolved four murder cases, but investigators have continued examining whether Naso may be responsible for additional unsolved killings.

Cold case detectives have reviewed other murders with similar patterns, particularly those involving women whose names follow the double-initial pattern. Some reporting has explored possible connections to cases in multiple states, though no additional charges have been filed.

The case has attracted significant media attention, including coverage by Oxygen's "Death Row Confidential: Secrets of a Serial Killer" and numerous documentary examinations. The disturbing nature of Naso's documentation of his crimes—the photographs, diary, and collected mementos—has made the case a subject of study for criminal psychologists and law enforcement training programs.

For the families of Roxene Roggasch, Carmen Colon, Pamela Parsons, and Tracy Tafoya, the 2013 conviction provided answers that had eluded them for decades. While Naso's death sentence remains in legal limbo due to California's execution moratorium, the guilty verdicts confirmed what investigators had suspected: their loved ones had fallen victim to a serial predator who had evaded justice for far too long.

The Joseph Naso case serves as a reminder of how cold cases can remain solvable decades after the crimes occurred, particularly as DNA technology and coordinated law enforcement databases improve. It also illustrates how a routine probation check can unexpectedly break open investigations that had gone cold, bringing closure to families who had nearly given up hope of ever learning the truth.