Heriberto SedaIn November 1989, a letter which arrived at East New York’s 17th Police Precinct bearing the heading, “This is the Zodiac”, was initially discounted as being authored by a crank and was quickly forgotten. Sent by Heriberto Seda, who began a series of random shootings that were eventually connected to the new Zodiac letters, caused many New Yorkers to suspect that the original Californian Zodiac Killer had returned.
Despite large gaps in the killer’s crime spree, the New York Zodiac continued to communicate with the media and throughout the latter half of 1993, three more people were shot with one dying from his wounds. The investigation soon drew to a standstill and by the end of 1994 the case grew cold. It was until several years later that a chance encounter unrelated to the murders would eventually led to the arrest of the New York Zodiac.
Clark had previously worked on the Son of Sam task-force, and Ciravolo was soon placed in charge of the case, which they both suspected was no mere robbery, but rather an intentional homicide. Proce eventually died from his wounds on June 24, and the detectives were then hunting a killer. Because the previous two shootings had occurred across the Queens/Brooklyn border, Ciravolo did not become aware of these crimes or the connected Zodiac letter sent to the Anti-Crime Unit.
Ciravolo now believed they were looking for an apparent Serial Killer, possibly the original Zodiac who terrorised San Francisco, and this fear was strengthened when similar letters arrived at the New York Post and 60 Minutes, that were written in the same bizarre style as the earlier notes left besides the victims. The Zodiac detailed the time, place and date of each shooting so far, and listed the victims astrological sign too. The killer stated all the victims had been shot in Brooklyn, except the police knew Proce had been shot in Queens, something the Zodiac must have not realised. A reporter at the Post brought the letter to Brooklyn detectives, suspecting it was a genuine letter from the Zodiac killer.
She had hoped to boost her own career with a front page story, but was disappointed when no similar murders could be found that corresponded with those in the letter. Many officers considered it to be the work a hoaxer. The letter included a large Zodiac crossed-circle symbol at the top next to a Zodiac dial with the three star signs of Scorpio, Gemini and Taurus. It read;
This is the Zodiac the twelve sign
will die when the belts in the heaven
are seen
the first sign is dead on march 8 1990 1:45am
white man with cane shoot on the back in the street
the second sign is dead on march 29 1990 2:57am
white man with black coat shoot in the side in front of house
the third sign is dead on may 31 1990 2:04am
white old man with cane shoot
in front of house
next to this was written the word Faust, which was underlined three times. The author added the words “no more games pigs” above a large Z and then added at the bottom the words, “All shoot in Brooklyn with .380 RNL or 9mm”.
The Zodiac shot his latest victim in the chest, but luckily the bullet missed his aorta and exited the body through his right armpit, saving his life. Parham’s star sign was Cancer, and the shooter had checked his wallet to confirm this before opening fire. The day after the Central Park shooting, a letter arrived at the Post which contained the same occultist symbolism as previous communications, including a listing of the time, place and victim’s astrological sign. However, one intriguing point about this latest letter was the authors blatant attempt to convince the police and media that the New York Zodiac and the San Francisco Zodiac were one and the same. The contents of the letter displayed an attempt by the author to prove he was the original killer.
This is the Zodiac I have seen the Post and you say
the note Sent to the Post not similar to any of
the San Francisco Zodiac letters you are
Wrong the handwriting look different it is
One of the same Zodiac one Zodiac
In San Francisco killed a man in the park with a
gun and killed a women with a knife and killed
A man in the taxi cab with gun
There was then a childlike drawing of the San Francisco Zodiac’s outfit he wore at the Lake Berryessa attack. Next to this was the Zodiac symbol used by the original Zodiac, and underneath was written a phrase in French and then the name Faust at the top of a compass with three 6’s representing west, south and east. To the left was a Zodiac dial with four symbols representing the Scorpio, Gemini, Taurus and Cancer signs. To the right of the page was written;
Fourth sign dead shoot in Central Park
white man sleeping on bench with little
black bag shoot in chest
June 21, 1990 3:52am
Next to this was written in thick black marker the word Zodiac.
Those familiar with the Bay Area murders were unconvinced by the letter writers attempts to link the two cases to a single individual. The first instance of doubt centred on the handwriting, which was distinctly different to that of the original Zodiac, whilst the victimology was also different. This new Zodiac was targeting lone individuals at night, whilst the Californian Zodiac targeted mainly couples and sometimes launched his attacks during the daytime. The evidence all pointed to the fact that this new Zodiac was a copycat with little in common with his predecessor apart from randomly targeting strangers and communicating with the authorities.
Despite this, the media savoured the prospect of a serial killer long thought dead or incarcerated, having returned to murder once more and many journalists hoped for such an explosive story. Regardless of whether this new Zodiac was from same person from the 1960’s and 70’s, the NYPD were still hunting a killer who had viciously attacked four people, leaving one dead. Of the three surviving victims, none got a good look at their attacker. Parham was interviewed by police and provided them with enough of a description to compile a composite sketch of the suspect. He described the young man as black, about 30-years-old, 5 foot 10 inches to 6 feet tall and around 185 pounds. The sketch was released to the press, and journalists soon began referring to it as the “Evil Al Roker”, because of its resemblance to the cheerful TV weatherman.
He also collected books on serial murder and had a strong fascination with serial killers, specifically Ted Bundy, who Heriberto Seda apparently idolised. But the serial killer he most admired was the San Francisco Zodiac, who terrorised the Bay Area during the 1960’s and 70’s, because he was never caught and considered his victims sinners who would serve as his slaves in the afterlife. Seda watched the Dirty Harry movies which were loosely based on the Zodiac crimes and owned a well worn copy of Robert Graysmith’s Zodiac.
Graysmith’s book was considered the definitive work on the case and Seda used it as the blueprint for his own crime spree. He compiled a scrapbook of the New York Zodiac Case, keeping it next to previous ones he had completed on Ted Bundy, the West Coast Zodiac and other serial killers. Seda ordered ammunition catalogues, and owned a small arsenal of home-made weapons, including explosives and a collection of zip guns he crafted himself. He intended to escape capture by using zip guns, which he believed could not be detected through ballistic tests meaning he could change the barrels at will.
Police believed they had enough evidence to link Seda with the New York Zodiac crimes, and he was formally charged on June 21, 1996. The handwriting on his incident statement matched that of the Zodiac letters, whilst his fingerprints matched those found at the crime scenes, but most damning off all, his DNA was found on a stamp attached to one of the Zodiac letters sent to police.
During his subsequent trial at the State Supreme Court for the County of Queens, New York, he was charged with three murders and five attempted murders. Seda, who was defended by his court appointed attorneys David Bart and John Wallenstein, caused repeated disruptions during the proceedings, often shouting obscenities directed at the presiding judge Robert J. Hanophy.
The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorneys Robert J. Masters and Raymond E. Scheer called 45 witnesses to give testimony and over 150 pieces of evidence were submitted. After a six-week trial, Heriberto Seda was found guilty by a jury on June 24, 1998 and sentenced to 232 years imprisonment. In prison, Seda read the bible every day and often quoted scripture to his fellow inmates.
His sister has refused to reconcile with him, despite numerous attempts by Seda to contact her. Gladys Reyes continued to live with her mother in East New York. In 2003, whilst serving his sentence at Attica, Heriberto Seda began a romantic relationship with a Latina trans-woman named Synthia-China Blast who was a member of the Latin Kings street gang. Blast had tried on numerous occasions to obtain gender-reassignment surgery and the couple started legal action in a bid to be granted permission to marry.
Surviving victims of Heriberto Seda still suffer physical and psychological trauma from the attacks. Parham, who is devoutly Christian has said he forgives Seda, whilst others like Orozco and Montenesdro have not allowed the pain they suffered to stop them from the walking the streets of New York. The original Zodiac from San Francisco, who Seda held in such high regard, even emulating his crimes, has never been caught and his identity remains a mystery.
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