Naso ordered to stand trial for murders of women

HEALDSBURG, Calif. -- A Marin County Superior Court judge this morning ordered accused serial killer Joseph Naso to stand trial on charges that he murdered four women between 1977 and 1994.

Judge Andrew Sweet also held Naso, 78, to answer to enhancements on those charges for allegedly committing multiple murders.

The charges make Naso eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, but Marin County Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana declined to comment on whether prosecutors would seek capital punishment.

Ahana called the judge's decision to hold Naso for trial "appropriate."

He will return to court to be arraigned on the charges on Feb. 3.

Sweet's ruling came mid-morning at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing that began Jan. 10. The purpose of the hearing was to allow Sweet to determine whether there was enough evidence to try Naso for the murders.

Naso is charged with killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland, in January 1977, and Carmen Colon, 22, in Contra Costa County in August 1978. He is also accused of murdering Pamela Parsons, 38, on Sept. 19, 1993, and Tracy Tafoya, 31, in August 1994. Parsons and Tafoya were both from Yuba County.

All of the women are believed to have worked as prostitutes.

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marin county, crime, murder, trials, joseph naso, healdsburg, north bay news

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