Confirming what everyone already suspects about the scary, lunatic-seeming man who's about to stand trial for the murders of four women in Northern California between 1977 and the mid-1990s, Joseph Naso has refused to hire an attorney to defend him, and will instead mount his own defense. A judge ruled today that Naso appears to be competent to decide this matter, and that he is choosing to act pro se "knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily." Therefore the trial will go forward with Naso acting as his own attorney, and Naso will reappear in court on May 27.
A public defender briefly worked with Naso after his April arrest, but the court decided that since Naso had personal assets in excess of $1 million, he could afford to hire his own attorney.
