Watch CBS News

Joseph Naso Update: Evidence links convicted serial killer to sixth slaying, authorities say

Joseph Naso listened as the prosecution made its opening statement in Marin Superior Court on June 17, 2013, in San Rafael, Calif. Robert Tong,AP Photo/Marin Independent Journal

(CBS/AP) SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Authorities say they've linked a sixth killing to Joseph Naso, a former photographer facing a possible death sentence for the murders of four Northern California women.

Prosecutors say new evidence ties the 79-year-old Naso to the killing of Sharileea Patton, whose body was found in Marin County in 1981.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports the 56-year-old Patton was in the San Francisco Bay Area looking for work when her strangled body was found stuffed into two garbage bags.

Naso was convicted earlier this year of killing four women in the 1970s and 1990s. All four had alliterative names: Roxene Roggasch, Carmen Colon, Pamela Parsons and Tracy Tafoya.

Naso also is the suspect in a fifth killing in Nevada County in 1992.

The penalty phase of his trial begins Wednesday in Marin County, after which jurors will decide if he is to be sentenced to death or to life in prison.

Complete coverage of Joseph Naso on Crimesider

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.