Netflix’s Catching Killers show takes a look at some of the most gruesome crimes investigators have ever discovered.
In the new season’s third episode, the crimes of the New York-based Zodiac Killer, whose real name is Heriberto “Eddie” Seda, are unpacked.
He was eventually caught and jailed – but not before committing heinous crimes.
Who was the Zodiac Killer?
The identity of the original Zodiac Killer has never been found out but it is known that he killed a number of people in San Francisco during the Sixties – and his name was associated with at least five murders.
He was given the nickname of the Zodiac Killer because he was obsessed with murdering victims based on their star sign. When communicating with authorities and the press, he used ciphers and cryptic letters that were difficult to understand, but he was never captured.
Nearly twenty years later, Heriberto Seda went on to commit similar murders, and was labelled a copycat version of the New York Zodiac Killer.
In 2007 the American thriller , Zodiac, was released, which was based on the serial murderer. It depicts the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer during the late 1960s and early 1970s, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.
The film director, David Fincher, spent more than a year investigating and researching the crimes committed by the Zodiac Killer, and the film received positive reviews, despite its running time of more than three hours.
What did the Zodiac Killer do?
During the 1990s, Seda began has murderous activity – inspired by the infamous San Francisco-based Zodiac Killer – who was active in the 1960s. He was only 23 when he shot his first two victims in March 1990, who fortunately survived.
Between 1990 and 1993, he killed three people by shooting them in the head, and wounded at least five others.
The New York Zodiac Killer’s victims included Joseph Proce, 78, Patricia Fonti, 39, and John Diacone, 46.
According to The New York Times, he was charged with “six counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and seven counts of weapons possession” in 1996.
Before committing his crimes, he would write notes to police, with details about his victims’ horoscopes.
As a young man, he deeply admired the original Zodiac Killer, after watching a PBS news special on his crimes.
Now, Seda is serving a life sentence in prison. He is not eligible for parole until he turns 264, in the year 2231.
Speaking to New York magazine, about his motive for his killings in 2004, he said: “I got nothing to live for. I don’t got no job. I already got those skills. I could be famous. I could do that.”
