SAN RAFAEL, California (AP) A judge sentenced a California man to death Friday in the decades-old killings of four women with matching initials, saying the serial killer has "made this world a worse place."
Jurors had recommended the death penalty for 79-year-old Joseph Naso.
The former photographer was convictedof strangling four prostitutes with matching initials: Roxene Roggasch, Carmen Colon, Pamela Parsons and Tracy Tafoya.
Naso represented himself at trial, often coming off as confused. In his closing argument, he told the jury he was no monster and did not kill the women.
Marin Independent Journal reported that Naso was seen raising his middle finger to the courtroom audience on Friday.
Prosecutors presented evidence collected from Naso's home, including photographs of partially nude women appearing dead or knocked out and a journal describing rapes of numerous underage girls and women dating back to the 1950s.
Investigators found a "List of 10," featuring descriptions and references to the killings and the rural areas where the bodies were dumped.
Prosecutors introduced evidence that Naso had killed two other women, Sharileea Patton and Sara Dylan, although he was not charged with their deaths.
Despite the death sentence, Naso is unlikely to see the state's death chamber.
There are 745 inmates already on California's Death Row, and executions have been on hold since 2006, when a federal judge ordered an overhaul of California's execution protocol.
It's expected to take at least another year for prison officials to properly adopt the state's new single-drug execution method and have it cleared by the judge.
