The Alphabet Killer: Joseph Naso and His Chilling List of 10 Victims

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🎬 Watch The Alphabet Killer: Joseph Naso and His Chilling List of 10 Victims

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Joseph Naso: The Alphabet Killer's List For decades, he was just a freelance photographer, an unassuming, eccentric man in his 70s living a quiet life in Reno, Nevada. But in a locked safe deposit box, Joseph Naso kept his masterpiece: a chilling ledger of death that would expose him as one of California's most methodical and cold-blooded predators: the "Alphabet Killer." The List of 10 Naso's downfall in 2011 didn't come from a brilliant piece of detective work, but from a simple probation violation. When investigators searched his home and a nearby safe deposit box, they found a trove of disturbing evidence. Alongside thousands of photographs of women in lingerie or unconscious poses, they found graphic journals detailing sexual assault and torture. The most damning item, however, was a single, handwritten sheet of paper: a "List of 10." This list wasn't just names; it was a cryptic scorecard. It contained ten entries, each describing a location and a woman, but with no names attached. To investigators, it was a terrifying mystery. To Joseph Naso, it was a checklist of his life's work. The Alphabet Murders As detectives from California cold case units began to cross-reference the list with unsolved murders, a horrifying pattern emerged. The list was a directory of his victims, and Naso had a sickeningly clever signature. He was dubbed the "Alphabet Killer" because his victims' names and the locations he dumped their bodies often had matching double initials. Victim #1: Roxene Roggasch Naso's list described a "Girl near Richmond." Investigators matched this to Roxene Roggasch, a prostitute whose body was found in 1977 near Richmond, California. She was 18. Victim #2: Carmen Colon The second entry described a girl found near "Port Costa." This was Carmen Colon, a 22-year-old found murdered in 1978 in Crockett, near the Carquinez Strait. Victim #3: Pamela Parsons In 1993, the body of 38-year-old Pamela Parsons was found in Yuba County, California. Naso had photographed her. She was identified as another entry on his list. Victim #10: Tracy Tofoya The final entry on the list was matched to Tracy Tofoya, a 31-year-old found murdered in Yuba County in 1994. Like the others, she had been strangled. A Killer's Trophies Joseph Naso's profession as a photographer was his cover and his tool. He preyed on vulnerable women, often prostitutes, luring them with the promise of a modeling gig. His photographs, many found in his home, were his trophies. They showed his victims posed in stockings and lingerie, some appearing unconscious, captured before or after their deaths. His journals provided a cold, emotionless window into his mind, describing the assault, strangulation, and disposal of his victims with chilling detachment. Trial and Conviction In a bizarre trial where the 79-year-old Naso often chose to represent himself, he was arrogant and defiant, cross-examining investigators and the victims' family members. He showed no remorse. In 2013, a Marin County jury found Joseph Naso guilty of the four murders of Roggasch, Colon, Parsons, and Tofoya. He was sentenced to death. Joseph Naso was jailed, his killing spree over. But the "List of 10" remains a haunting mystery. Four women were identified. Six were not. They remain cryptic entries on a killer's list, leaving a chilling question: who were the other six victims of the Alphabet Killer?

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