Welcome back, everyone.
As promised, I have part two to the Alphabet Murders, but first, enjoy this picture of Mr. Hades. Today we are talking about the Alphabet murders of California or the murders of Joseph Naso.
Many people believe Naso is also responsible for the killing of Carmen Colon, Wanda Walkowicz, and Michelle Maenza in Rochester, New York, but nothing is guaranteed. Naso was born on January 7, 1934, in Rochester, New York. No wonder people think he might have killed the three girls.
(Source: Wiki) Naso joined the U.S Air Force in the 50s and married Judith shortly after. There wasn't a lot of information on his life before moving to California in the mid-70s. However, in an interview with Judith after Naso's arrest, she mentions that he would beat her repeatedly. She stated that he drugged and raped her twice in 1976 and they divorced soon after those incidents. Unfortunately, Judith was in the situation for eighteen years before enough was enough. Naso was referred to as "Crazy Joe" by those who knew him- they didn't know exactly how crazy he was. He worked as a freelance photographer in California, and other than being arrested for petty crimes like shoplifting; he didn't attract attention until 2011. Naso had stolen from a local grocery store and was on probation. An officer was sent to Naso's home to make sure he wasn't breaking probation and using alcohol and stuff. Naso knew he had to let the officer in even though soon the police would know he was more than a petty thief but a real fucked up guy. Naso's home was disturbing on so many levels; the officer noted that there was rotting flesh sitting on Naso's countertop, and trash covered the floor. I wish that were all they found at Naso's home, but as the officer furthered his search, he found thousands of pictures of women. They ranged from the ages of 20-80. Some of them were posed or hogtied; others looked like they were unconscious or even dead. Having suspicious pictures wasn't enough, but luckily the officer found some bullets and a small stash of guns in Naso's home. That was enough to arrest him, and his house further investigated. Just you casual small stash of guns- what the hell? That is when they found everything. They found a room in Naso's home that only opened from the outside and had a small door, just big enough to pass food through. The windows of the room were barred, and the room was obviously used to keep women in before murdering them. They also found Naso's rape diaries and other journals detailing his torture methods and who his victims were. Apparently, he would just creep on people, if you think about it, they are the lucky ones. He might not have raped all of the people he stalked, but he wrote about the what-ifs.
For example, he graphically described murdering his upstairs neighbors. Those neighbors referred to him as "Crazy Joe" and just thought he was creepy. The couple ended up moving, and that is why they didn't end up being victims of Naso. Talk about luck. Imagine being them after Naso was arrested in 2011. Naso was estimated to had killed ten people, but only six can be confirmed. So, why didn't anyone catch on to him sooner? He targeted sex workers, and as everyone is aware, authorities don't prioritize these cases because they deem them high-risk lifestyles. It's bullshit, I tell you! They are people just like everyone else, and they deserve to be treated as such, end of the story. Like I mentioned earlier, authorities found a lot of pictures, and many of them are still unidentified. Police were able to connect a few images with Naso's journal, finding six victims.
(Source: Wiki) The first of Naso's victims was Roxenne Roggasch. She was only 18 years old and was found on January 10, 1977, near Fairfax, California. Roggasch had been strangled and was dumped the day before her discovery. Police also stated that she was a sex worker, but Roggasch's family denies it. Roggasch was strangled with a pair of nylons and had a couple more gaging her. Authorities were able to find semen on the cloths which matched with Naso's in 2011. In Naso's journal, Roggasch was described as the "girl near Loganitas," which is just the coldest. I found a few of his journal entries online, and they're unsettling- lists of descriptions of women and what he did to them. It seems apparent that he doesn't see them as people- referring to them as "the one with the nice legs" and whatnot.
(Source" Murder Squad)
Carmen Lorraine Colon, 22, was Naso's next victim. If you will notice she shares the same name was the Rochester killing, and that cannot be a coincidence.
Colon was found on August 13, 1978, along the Carquinez Scenic Highway. This was only 30 miles from where Roggasch was dumped. She was found decomposing and naked in a ditch.
Shariea Lefern Johnson Patton, 56, was another one of Naso's victims. Naso worked in the apartment complex that Patton lived in, and Naso had a collection of pictures of her in his home. Patton was found in 1981 in Tiburon, California.
Sarah Dylan, also known as Renee Shapiro, a Bob Dylan groupie, was the next victim. Obsessed with Bob Dylan, she changed her name to Dylan's ex-wife's name. She was last seen leaving a Dylan concert in San Fransico in May of 1992. Her body was found days later near Nevada County, California.
Pamela Ruth Parson, a 38-year-old waitress, was next to meet Naso. It appears Naso returns to alphabet murders, and it is uncertain why is motive changed for a time. Did he have to kill Patton and Dylan? Parson worked near Naso's home in Yuba County, which could explain why he chose her.
In Parson's autopsy, authorities noted ligature marks on her wrists and neck and a fractured hyoid bone, which, according to Google, is the "tongue-bone."
The last confirmed victim of Naso was Tracy Lynn McKinney Tafoya, found in 1994. Tafoya was 31 ad had been drugged, raped, and strangled by Naso before he dumped her body in Marysville Cemetery in Yuba County, California. Tafoya was the only victim that was drugged as far as I could find.
As I mentioned earlier, Naso had tons of pictures and several journals, meaning there could be a lot more victims. He had rape journals, lists of women that he didn't kill, and the evidence is probably sitting in backlog somewhere. Naso targeted sex workers, at least while in California, he might have been reported before, and nothing was done about it, we don't know.
With all those horrible facts being said, Naso was arrested on April 11, 2011, and was given the death sentence. He was put to death on November 22, 2013, for the deaths of the six women. Many think he could be connected to the alphabet murders in Rochester, New York, in the early 70s, despite no DNA match.
This case is far from closed, though. The women in those pictures and Naso's rape journals still need to be further studied. I think several missing person's cases could be solved from Naso's journal; authorities just haven't been able to yet. That is where we come into the picture. Take a moment to look up the unidentified women online and see if anyone looks familiar, and maybe he can solve the rest of this case. Yes, the bad guy was caught, but there are still families out there who don't know where their daughters are.
I'm sorry for the back to back disturbing stories- it can be a lot. I'm going to look into doing a cryptid for next time. I feel like it's been a minute since my last creature story. What should I do? Another Bigfoot? Loch Ness Monster? Mothman? Something super strange no one has really heard about- the options are endless.
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-Tye
Always Cite Those Sources:
“The Search for Joe Naso Victims.”The Murder Squad, 12 Mar. 2020, themurdersquad.com/episodes/the-search-for-joe-naso-victims/.
McGreal, Chris. “Has the Alphabet Murderer Finally Been Caught?”The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 May 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/26/alphabet-murderer.
Cohen, Ronnie, and Reuters. “Suspect's Diary in 'Alphabet Murders' Case Describes Victims.”NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 15 Aug. 2013, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspects-diary-alphabet-murders-case-describes-victims-flna6C10924814.
“Joseph Naso.”Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Mar. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Naso.
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