Marin County investigators say they have cracked a serial killer case that dates back to the 1970s.
On Monday Marin sheriff deputies arrested 77-year-old Joseph Naso minutes after he was released from the El Dorado county Jail in Tahoe. He had just finished serving time there on an unrelated matter.
Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian said Tuesday that Naso is suspected of killing Roxene Roggasch in Marin County in 1977. Roggasch was 18-years-old and from Oakland. Her body was dumped in heavy brush off of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard on Jan. 10, 1977. She was found wearing only panty hose and her feet had been tied together. The Marin IJ said Roggasch's parents still live in San Jose. The case remained unsolved until recently.
Investigators said they suspect Naso also killed Carmen Colon in Contra Costa County in 1978.
Berberian would not discuss details of the investigation, but there are reports the case began to crack open last April when a probation officer visited Naso at his home in Reno and discovered guns and ammunition. Other searches of the home found photographs and writings that tied him to the murders of the four women.
Nevada investigators said they are still processing evidence, leaving open the possibility that there may be more victims out there.
"We think there are others out there we haven't discovered yet," Chris Perry, acting director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, told reporters. "Typically when you are talking about a person who has killed more than once, this doesn't stop. This is a criminal who has a history to 1955."
Nevada authorities said Naso was a professional photographer who traveled the country for work.
The two other victims, killed in Yuba County in 1993 and 1994, are Pamela Parsons and Tracy Tofoya.
Naso faces four counts of murder and will be arraigned in Marin County Superior Court on Wednesday. Berberian said he has agreed to prosecute Naso for all four homicides.
Naso was booked into the Marin County Jail at 5 p.m. Monday and is being held without bail. He is eligible for the death penalty.
