Crime & Safety

Sheriff's Deputies, Ex-Girlfriend Testify in Accused Serial Killer Case

Officers provide details about the deaths of two women Joseph Naso is charged with murdering, while 80-year-old Betty Matheson says she feared Naso and that he choked her so he could have sex with her while she was unconscious.

Prosecutors continues to lay out their case against accused serial killer Joseph Naso Friday, taking testimony from Yuba County sheriff's officers and Naso’s 80-year-old ex-girlfriend.

In a live transmission from a Pensacola, Fla., courtroom, Betty Matheson said Naso choked her so he could have sex with her while she was unconscious during their relationship. Matheson said she informed Reno, Nev. police about the incident in a letter on Jan. 17, 1995. Matheson, who said she broke up with Matheson because she was afraid of him, said she did not recall when the choking incident occurred.

Naso, 78, is charged with killing four Northern California women between 1977 and 1994. At least two of the women were strangled.

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Naso is serving as his own attorney during a preliminary hearing to determine if he should stand trial for the murders. The hearing has covered four days and is expected to continue until at least the end of next week in Marin County Superior Court. It resumes Tuesday morning.

Matheson is among many women who posed in hosiery, garters and red high heels for photos found in Naso's Reno home and in his safety deposit box in a Reno bank. Matheson also said Naso sent her "trashy letters" and copies of the photos he had taken of her.

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During his cross-examination of Matheson, Naso asked her if she recalled their good times together in California.

"You still look good Betty, after all these years. You still look good to me," Naso said.

Naso reminded Matheson that he visited her twice in Florida but she was unable to remember some of the details of the visit.

"We had a lot of fun together, didn't we," Naso asked.

"Yes," Matheson said, as she and Naso shared some laughter.

"Did I ever harm you?" Naso asked.

"I do not remember," she replied. "I wish I could remember better," she said at the end of her 90-minute testimony.

"I do too," Naso said.

Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet acknowledged Matheson appeared to be suffering from a medical condition exhibited by shaking hands and slow speech during her testimony.

Later on Friday, Yuba County Sheriff’s officers gave details Friday afternoon about

the deaths of two women who were found in rural areas of the county in 1993

and 1994. Naso is accused of murdering the women.

Sheriff's Sgt. Joe Million testified the naked body of Pamela Parsons, 38, was found on Sept. 19, 1993, in a small pullout on Simpson-Dantoni Road west of Marysville by Victor Mowers, while he was walking his dog. Parsons' common-law husband reported her missing on Sept. 14.

Tracy Tafoya's decomposing body was found on Aug. 14, 1994, by Randy Daum as he rode his bicycle on state Highway 70 near Marysville Cemetery, Million said.

The testimony Friday was the first this week directly related to the murders and crime scenes.

On several occasions during the hearing this week, Naso has asserted he has not broken any laws by photographing nude or partially nude women with their consent in the privacy of his home.

Investigators have also testified the women appeared asleep, unconscious or incapacitated in the photos. Friday Naso said he deliberately produces sensual and erotic effects in his risque photos that might give the impression the women are dead.

"I'm very good at that," Naso said. "Ninety percent of this case is about me and my life and not about these four unsolved crimes.”

Deputy District Attorney Rosemary Slote said the prosecution is trying to establish "a common plan or scheme. We think he incapacitates these women and kills them."

Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet said he will allow testimony and evidence about Naso's character but has not decided if he will consider it when ruling on the murder charges against Naso.

"You need to think through your theory carefully," Sweet told Slote.

--Bay City News Service


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