Accused Serial Killer Defends Macabre Photos

The former photographer accused of killing four Northern California women defended in court Tuesday bizarre photos of women in "unnatural positions" found in his Nevada home, saying they were created for magazines, according to reports.

Joseph Naso, 78, is representing himself in the trial in Marin County Superior Court. In court on Tuesday, Naso's former probation officer in Nevada described finding the photos -- some of which were found near a list with descriptions of 10 women, some of which seemed to match four of the murdered women found in the 1970s and 1990s -- at Naso's home. The photos showed "nude women posed in 'unnatural positions' who appeared dead or unconscious," according to the Associated Press.

"Some appeared to be asleep, some appeared to be unconscious, and some non-responsive," probation officer Roger Jacobs testified.

Jacobs was supervising Naso during his probation for a 2009 conviction for felony larceny. His home was searched after Naso violated probation for possessing ammunition at his Reno, Nev. home, where Jacobs found the photos.

Near the photos were written references to ten women, including descriptions of four women that prosecutors think are Naso's victims: Roxene Roggasch, Carmen Colon, Pamela Parsons and Tracy Tafoya.

For example, one of the descriptions is "Girl from Loganitas." Roggash's body was found near that town. Another description is "Girl near Port Costa" That's where Colon's body was found in 1978.

Parsons' corpse was found near Yuba City in 1993 -- when Naso was living there with his mentally-ill son. Lastly, Tafoya was also killed in Yuba City, and her body was found near Marysville Cemetery. "Girl from MRV Cemetery" is No. 10 on Naso's list.

Naso says that the photographs are all posed or created and that he did gain pleasure from looking at "fabricated" images of women pretending to be dead or asleep. He likened this peccadillo to watching horror movies.