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Who is Joseph Naso? California serial killer kept ‘List of Ten’ rape diary and 'trophy' pics of his victims

His crimes spanned between 1977 to 1994 and the California man is now on death row
PUBLISHED FEB 23, 2021
Naso in a still from 'The List of Ten' (Discovery+)
Naso in a still from 'The List of Ten' (Discovery+)

'The List of Ten' is part of the string of Discovery+ true crime documentaries that have been piquing interest. Joseph Naso is the man behind the death of six women who were murdered in cold blood. In reality, it was supposed to be ten women, of which four were unidentified. His crimes spanned between 1977 to 1994 and the California man is now sentenced to death.

Naso has been one of those killers who seemed to take pride in his work, so much so that he had a rape diary containing gruesome details of the victim's deaths. And that wasn't all. He had a list better known as 'The List of Ten' of his ten murders that he seemed insanely proud of. While the details of the list were vague for the layman, it was a reminder of his work for Naso.

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Who is Joseph Naso?

Naso is a criminal with a massive ego, attention to detail, and being meticulousness. He was a man who probably had 'American Psycho' Patrick Batemen's cold and quiet confidence and a lust for flesh to the level that he kept ten mannequins that served as timely flashbacks and fond memories of the gory work he had done. Born in 1934, Naso served in the Air Force and was actually married for 18 years before he divorced his wife, Judith.

However, he also led a life as a photographer with a penchant for clicking pictures of dead women — especially those he killed and had quite the collection. Naso lived in Sacramento between 1999 and 2003 and finally settled in Reno, Nevada, in 2004. He was arrested in 2010 and 'Crazy Joe' as he was called was more than just the quiet-looking man he was from the pictures.

It was quite the body count he stacked up. Roxenne Roggasch was found dead in 1977 after her body was dumped near Fairfax. She was strangled to death. This was followed by Carmen Colon in 1978. The body was again dumped and was nude. Shariea Lefern Johnson Patton was another 56-year-old victim where Naso was the main suspect, but he managed to wriggle free. Sarah Dylan was another victim killed in 1992. Pamela Parsons was a waitress who was found murdered in 1993.

Naso was the common factor in all these deaths. Drugged, raped, and strangled, these women's bodies were disposed of once he was done with them. The documentary pays attention to some of his heinous acts and also talks about the mannequins which investigators opined he "rubbed" and "touched" as a way to relive the past memories terming him to be a necrophile of sorts.

At Present

Nevada parole and probation authorities made Naso's arrest in April 2010. On April 11, 2011, he was charged with the murders of Roggasch, Colon, Parsons, and Tafoya. Following this, a Marin County judge sentenced him to death for these murders in 2013. Naso is 87 years old now. He remains incarcerated in San Quentin prison. 

'The List of Ten' is available for streaming on Discovery+.

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