Heriberto Seda
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Heriberto "Eddie" Seda (born 1969 or 1970) is a serial killer who struck New York City from 1990 to 1994. Before being caught on June 18, 1996, Seda killed three people and critically wounded four. Seda is believed to have admired San Francisco’s Zodiac Killer for avoiding capture. In 1998, Seda was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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[edit] Background
Seda was a very religious man and attended church regularly. He lived with his mother and half sister in East New York, where he didn't work and often kept to himself. At the age of 16, Seda dropped out of high school when he was caught carrying a weapon.
On November 17, 1989, East New York’s 75th Precinct began receiving letters with the heading: "This is the zodiac". The first letter contained a warning of 12 murders, one for each sign in the Zodiac. The letter also claimed that one murder had already taken place, but with no evidence the police dismissed the letter as a hoax, which the police are accustomed to receiving. The letter contained a drawing of a circle with lines running through it dividing the circle into 12 sections, each part representing a sign in the zodiac.
[edit] Capture
Seda was physically abusive to his half-sister, Reyes, and repeatedly raped her. During a confrontation with her and her boyfriend, Seda pulled out a weapon and began threatening the couple. While Reyes' boyfriend hid in the bedroom, Reyes tried to escape through the front door but Seda shot her in the buttocks. Wounded but not incapacitated, she made her way to her neighbor’s apartment where she called the police. After a stand-off with the police, Seda was arrested. When asked to write a report on what had happened, Seda wrote in a fashion one of the detectives found strikingly similar to that of the Zodiac killer, especially due to his signature symbol he wrote at the end of all of his letters, which he claimed signified God. He was later convicted, and pleaded guilty to several counts of murder and attempted murder.
[edit] Victims
| Date | Victim | Zodiac Sign | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 1990 | Mario Orozco | Scorpio | Survived | Shot in the back. The bullet stayed lodged next to his spine. |
| March 29, 1990 | Germán Montenegro | Gemini | Survived | Shot in the left side of his lower body. The bullet went through his liver. |
| March 31, 1990 | Joe Proce | Taurus | Died | Shot in his lower back, hitting his kidney. He survived attack, but died in hospital on June 24, 1990 |
| June 19, 1990 | Larry Parham | Cancer | Survived | Shot in the chest. The bullet missed his aorta and exited his body through his right armpit. |
| August 10, 1992 | Patricia Fonti | Leo | Died | Shot twice and then was stabbed over 100 times. |
| June 4, 1993 | Jim Weber | Libra | Survived | Shot in the buttocks. |
| July 20, 1993 | Joseph Diacone | Virgo | Died | Shot in the neck at close range. |
| October 2, 1993 | Diane Ballard | Taurus | Survived | Shot in the neck. The bullet missed vital arteries but lodged against her spine. |
[edit] Other notes
- The crimes committed by Seda were the subject of an episode of Forensic Files as well as an episode of Psychic Detectives. In the early hours of March 2, 2007; CourtTV aired these episodes back-to-back to promote the film Zodiac.
