Every Town - The Zodiac Copycat: Did Americas Most Notorious Criminal Move To New York City?

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

Police in New York City in the early 90’s began finding victim who had been attacked at random AND then received cryptic messages that revolved around Zodiac signs – they thought that perhaps the Zodiac Killer had packed up and relocated and was now terrorizing the East Coast. 👀 Watch This Episode On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scarymysteries 🎧 Our Other Podcast Scary Mysteries: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkT 💀 Exclusive Videos, Podcasts & Perks: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries  👁 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 👁 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 🗣 Business Inquiries, questions and comments hit us up at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everytown has a dark side. Whether you have an interest in the true crime world or not, it's safe to say that you likely know who the Zodiac killer is.

If you're tuning in to this episode, well, that's a 100% guarantee. There's been many books made about this man. Movies and docks all covering his exploits, and it's because his reign of terror is fascinating on many levels. The Zodiac is one of, if not the most famous killer America has ever known, the one who terrorized the San Francisco Bay area in the late 60s, dressing up in masks and outfits and finding victims seemingly at random. And there's two main reasons why his case has everyone's interest piqued.

One, because he's never been caught. And two, because he sent all those cryptic messages telling the world and the authorities they'd never find him. Those letters went out to police and newspapers demanding they print his words for the world to see. Otherwise, more dead bodies. It was this action that told us a lot about the Zodiac's motivations, and he was an individual who got off on the notoriety. He got off on control and knowing that he was smarter than everybody else. Which is why when police in New York City in the early 90s began finding victims who had been attacked at random

and then received cryptic messages that revolved around Zodiac signs, that they thought that perhaps the Zodiac killer himself packed up and relocated and was now terrorizing the East Coast. Hey guys, it's Andrew, and thanks for tuning in today for another episode of Everytown. By 1993, the greater New York metropolitan area was in a panic, the realization that the Zodiac

may have set his roots down in the Big Apple. They had three dead and five injured within a three-year period, and someone was out there on the streets, attacking victims at random, but they would go on to discover, in part by chance, and in fact the individual causing all this anxiety was just a real admirer of the original, and this was a copycat killer. His name was Herberto Seda, man in his 20s obsessed with the Zodiac killer and how everyone around the world feared him, knew his name and what he had done, and said

He himself wanted desperately to be respected at all costs as well. And so he set out on a mission to following the footsteps of one of the greats. And this is the story of the New York City Zodiac Killer. The case of Herberto Seda is a very interesting one, and he'd be very happy to hear that. Throughout history, there have certainly been a decent amount of examples of real-life copycat killers, but there might not be as many as you think. which makes sense when you actually look into it. And killing after all is a pretty serious and personal act.

Most who do it on a regular basis are looking to satisfy some deep-seated psychological issues, and so copying what another killer has done isn't usually at the top of their list of things to do. Often the copycats that you hear about are more coincidental than anything else, meaning the MO of two individuals might look the same at first glance, but that's because there's only so many ways to do things. There's only so many victim profiles. Usually, it's either men or women, depending on the perpetrator. Take, for example, the work of Derek Todd Lee and Sean Gillis.

These two psychopathic individuals terrorize the people of Louisiana during overlapping time periods, with Lee's crimes primarily occurring between 1992 through 2003. and Gillises between 1994 and 2004. Despite them operating completely independently of one another, the methodologies bore unsettling similarities. They both stalked women, were brutally violent, and of course were geographically in the same place. While their sprees were going on,

police had no clue that it was actually two different guys doing this, but eventually, once each one was apprehended, they connected the dots and their differences became a little clear. clearer. John Wayne Gacy and Dean Coral were very similar as well. They both like to lure young men with the promise of money, gifts, or party, and then essentially torture them before burying the bodies. You can draw comparisons and a lot of how they operated, but again, these were not copycats. Many real copycat murders that we see are one-offs and are typically inspired by the media, mainly movies. The Beltway Snipers in 2002,

said their crimes were at least in part inspired by the movie seven. Daniel Gonzalez, known as the Freddie Kruger killer, murdered four people and injured two in England in 2004. His attacks were inspired by the nightmare on Elm Street films, and he aimed to emulate Freddie Kruger, of course. In 2001, Theory Jarden, a Belgian truck driver, killed a 15-year-old girl named Allison Cambier. He confessed to planning the murder,

inspired by the film Scream, even dawning the movie's iconic ghost face mask during the crime. So they drew from characters based in fiction. But Herberto Seda was different from all of them, that he got his inspiration from someone who was very real and very scary. Seda was a true copycat of the Zodiac Killer because he admired him in so many ways, mainly it was his ability to avoid being captured. It's interesting, though, and it was a copycat of the Zodiac Killer, because he admired him in so many ways. again the media that first turned him onto the Zodiac in the first place.

When Seda was a kid, he watched a PBS special covering the Zodiac's crimes and couldn't believe what he was actually seeing. Someone was out there who not only evaded authorities, but actively taunted them, which completely blurred the lines between real life and some crazy crime movie. To say to the Zodiac looked like the smartest person in the world, and here he was watching a documentary about him, and that was something Seda aspired to be. Ceda's crimes methods and the psychological underpinnings of his obsession with the Zodiac really do offer a strange glimpse into the mind of a serial killer, driven by a perverse form of affection, and a total desire for recognition and power.

Herberto Cato was born on July 31st, 1967 in New York City, where he was raised out in Brooklyn. Little is publicly known about all the details of his early life, but all the reports The court suggests that he had a troubled childhood, one that was characterized by instability and exposure to violence. These early negative experiences, like with most hero killers, certainly played a role in sadist's psychological development and his later criminal behavior, though it's tough to tell just how much exactly. It's the old nature versus nurture argument. Would he have become such a dangerous person if he didn't grow up in an unsteady environment? We'll never know for Sure. Academically, he performed well in high school. In fact, he excelled in his studies, but

he was a bit of a loner. He walked the halls alone and didn't have many friends, if any at all. There was no social life for him to speak of. One day he got caught at school with a starter pistol in his backpack, the ones typically used to get races underway. It can't actually shoot any bullets, but it was more of a thing he had to make himself feel more like a man. Obviously, that's a big no-no, and so the school's principal gave him two options. Complete mandatory counseling sessions and be allowed back in school, which they assumed he'd take or be expelled. Instead, I didn't think long about it, and his mother didn't seem to care all that much, and so he just dropped out entirely and never looked back.

The irony being that perhaps if he had gone to counseling could have gotten more than just his education back, maybe they would have seen the darkness, building up inside, and helped the young man, picked up on the issues he was dealing with, and steered him in another direction. Instead, though, much like his idol, he felt like he was above school and what it had to offer. And he just went back to living at his mother's apartment in Brooklyn, where now there was really no chance of having much of his social life, and he primarily hid away from the world in his room. It was here that Seda began building his arsenal. creating zip guns or improvised weapons, which a person can make from various materials if they so desire.

And from time to time, he'd wandered the streets, looking at all the people hastily moving back and forth between their busy lives, and a seeded jealousy began to grow in them. In his mind, he was better than all these people. So why was he stuck digging his fingers through payphone slots and vending machines in an attempt to find loose change? while they were going off to their successful jobs and enjoying life with their loved ones. At least, that's how he viewed it. While it's never been determined exactly why the Zodiac Killer gave himself that name, Seda, being so interested in his case, naturally became very interested in Zodiac signs as a study.

The belief in Zodiac signs and their influence on human behavior and destiny suggests that the position of the stars and planets at the time of one's birth can influence an individual. individual's personality, relationships, career, and future. One reason for the belief in zodiac signs is the psychological comfort it provides. Astrology offers individuals a framework to understand themselves and others better. And ultimately, that can give a person like Seda a sense of control and predictability in an unpredictable world. It offers explanations for complex situations and personality traits, reducing anxiety about the unknown and helping individuals feel more in control of their lives.

And Seda took to this like a duck to water. In March of 1990, it was time to really take control. In a later interview, he would go on to explain some of the motives behind the crimes he committed by saying, 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.

Armed with a homemade zip gun, Seda set out on the streets in New York to begin hunting. His first victim was a man named Mario or Roscoe, a Pisces, if you were wondering. He was shot in the back on March 8th. The firepower from the makeshift gun wasn't as powerful as an actual weapon. The bullet, which Seda crafted himself, lodged into the man's spine. But luckily, he survived. 21 days later, it was Jermaine Montenestro, who was targeted. In Ares, it was shot in the liver, but he too managed to make it out alive.

Seda went back to his room and made some modifications before heading back out on May 31st, where he came across Joseph Prost, shot him in the lower back, which had him pass away at the hospital. Joseph was 78 years old and a Gemini. These attacks were seemingly random, much like the real Zodiac, and so nobody was safe. The Seda targeted victims in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. In June, he attempted to kill Larry Parnum by shooting him in the chest, but he survived. And then, after a two-year-old Patricia Fonte, was not only shot twice by Seda, but then stabbed over 100 times.

He really wanted to make sure he took care of his business this time. Larry was a Gemini and Patricia Leo. Seda's M.O. was notably influenced. by the real Zodiac as he used a variety of weapons, those zip guns and knives, but most importantly, he also sent taunting letters to the police and media, similar to the early Zodiac Killer's correspondence, say to communicate it with the police through mainly handwritten letters, stating that his choice of victims was influenced by their astrological signs and hinted at committing his crimes only during periods when certain stars were observable in the night sky.

That statement is sort of comical in a sense because out in New York City, if you've been there, you know, it's tough to see much of the night sky because of all the light pollution around. These letters mimic the tone and style of Zodiac's communications, and Seda even adopted the moniker Zodiac in his correspondence. These letters also included puzzles and symbols, challenging authorities to catch him and boasting of his crimes. And for a short time, at least, because Seda was smart enough, he had people thinking that maybe the real Zodiac had relocated to the East Coast was looking to unleash some new terror there.

To predict the timing of these attacks, the police sought the expertise of a professional astronomer, whose forecast regarding the killer's actions turned out to be relatively precise. Sadie spoke proudly of his makeshift weapons and claimed it was these that were going to make it impossible to find him. no ballistics to trace, and of course he could always get rid of one and make a new one that worked differently. And these puzzles he sent use the international maritime signal flags, which Kieran Crowley, the journalist from the New York Post, managed to solve with a hell from his

father-in-law, who had a background in World War II era cryptography and signals intelligence. By 1993, there were three more victims that summer. Jim Weber, John Diacone, and Diane Ballard. They were a Gemini cancer and Libra, respectively. Jim and Diane survived their attacks, but John was killed after being shot in the head at close range. Seda's obsession and decision to emulate the notorious serial killer's methods, as I mentioned, of the start, is something out of the norm. It suggests a complex, psychological profile. Experts have speculated that Seda might have identified with the Zodiac killer's ability to elude capture and his notoriety.

This idolization could stem from a desire for power, recognition, and a need to feel superior to both as victims and law enforcement, and the world as a whole, the sort of superior being complex or wanting to be a supervillain. Criminologist and psychologist often discuss the concept of celebrity worship syndrome in the context of individuals who develop obsessions with celebrities or infamous figures. In the case of Seda, his fixation on the Zodiac killer could be seen as an extreme form of this syndrome. The object of admiration is a notorious criminal rather than a traditional celebrity.

It was this admiration that drove Seda, not just to idolize the killer, but to actively seek to become a successor, demonstrating a desire to inherit the Zodiac's mantle of fear. But try as he might, he never could be better than the original. and Seda's reign of imitation and terror came to an end in an unexpected sort of way by 1996. Back at home in Brooklyn, he had gotten into a physical altercation with his half-sister, Gladys. This was nothing new, and there was often problems inside their home.

Only this time, things got a bit more heated than usual. And perhaps, just because he had it closed by, Sadie grabbed one of his guns, and as Gladys was running away, he fired, hitting her in the butt. She was just wounded, though, managed to get over to the neighbor's place where she then dialed 911. When police arrived, a standoff ensued.

And say to his head, he knew what he had been up to and likely thought authorities were paying more attention to him than they really were. He was guilty in his mind and feared getting caught. However, the police had no idea that he had anything to do with the NYC Zodiac killings. He wasn't even on their radar in the slightest. After about an hour, he decided to put the gun down and without incident went to the station for booking. As his procedure, Seda at one point had to write down his statement as to the events that transpired that day. When he signed it at the bottom, wouldn't you know, he added a little symbol,

one that looked eerily similar to the ones the new Zodiac had been including in his letters. Now, why in the world he would do that? There's really only two possibilities. One is that he was cocky, couldn't resist the chance to rub it in their faces right then and there. It would have been a nice side note to his documentary if he had gotten away with it, and they discovered it years later. The other reason is that maybe there was a part of him that was ready to get caught. Maybe he was sort of looking to push the whole notoriety and fame thing up a bit,

speed up the process. Whether subconsciously or consciously, he wanted out of his mother's home and was looking, for something more. Detectives, of course, noticed the symbol, and so they started looking into him in more detail. They began with the obvious, a handwriting analysis that compared his recent statement to the letters the killer had sent, and they were pretty much locked in that it was a match. Those handmade guns and ammo, well, it turns out they were able to take his bullets from the victims and compare them with marks from the bullet and gun used in Gladys's shooting. And from there, they could, with the use of microscopes, compare tool marks on the materials, which showed they had been made by the same person and with the same tools.

In the meantime, of course, they sent in DNA from one of the stamps he had licked on one of his letters and compared it directly to Seda's DNA. While it took a little while, that was what ultimately sealed his fate, as they found a match dang close to 100%. In court, some of the survivors of his attacks remembered him asking them, there's a lot of his own. Zodiac signs before firing upon them. During his trial, details of his obsession became public, and it was a big news story for some time. And Seda ate up the spotlight as much as he could, often yelling out a turn and making a mockery of the court by shouting at the judge. In total, around 45 witnesses and 150 pieces of evidence were provided at length Seda to

the crimes. A trial only took about six weeks, and he was found guilty of the crime. He received 232 years behind bars, which is where he sits today, way upstate and Denamora. As to whether or not he achieved his ultimate goal, it's hard to say for sure. He was no Zodiac killer. Those are big shoes to fill, but he did gain some notoriety. Here we are talking about him in this episode, but I'll be honest.

I didn't know much about this guy until I started looking into it. maybe you guys had heard or maybe not. But it's a fascinating story and weird insight into the psyche of a person so desperate for attention. They're willing to do whatever it takes to have their names be worth mentioning in the slightest. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. I hope you enjoyed it. If you like listening to us, want to get an additional exclusive podcast each and every single week sent your way.

Please go check us out on Patreon. and now you can get the audio exclusive versions for just 75 cents per episode. It's free to try, so go check it out in the link below. Thanks for tuning in today and remember to come back next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.