Scary accused serial killer Joseph Naso, 77, who's in the preliminary hearing stage of what should be a pretty interesting quadruple-murder trial in a Marin County court, has asked a judge to let him be unshackled while in court. Not being able to find a lawyer he can trust with his case, and being too rich to qualify for a public defender, Naso will be representing himself, and he's found it difficult to take notes with his hands shackled to his waist.

Judge Andrew Sweet approved Naso's motion to have his left hand unshackled so that he can take notes in court. While in prison, Naso is not allowed any contact with other inmates.

Naso's next hearing is on October 11, and his motion to unshackle his hand will extend until his January 10 preliminary hearing. Naso stands accused of the murders of Roxene Roggasch, 18, of Oakland (whose body was found on Jan. 10, 1977, near Fairfax); Carmen Colon, 22, who was found near Port Costa in Contra Costa County in 1978; and Pamela Parsons, 38, and Tracey Tafoya, 31, who were killed in Yuba County in the early 1990s. It remains possible that Naso could be connected to the similarly patterned Alphabet Murders in New York State, never solved, which took place in the early 1970s. A woman also named Carmen Colon was killed there as well.