Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - "The New York Zodiac Killer" Heriberto Seda Pt. 1

Episode Date: December 5, 2022

Twenty years after the notorious Zodiac Killer terrorized San Francisco, someone else picked up their mantle. Heriberto “Eddie” Seda was a Brooklyn native and one-time street preacher who began targeting victims and taunting police with cryptic letters. His plan: kill twelve people — one of each Zodiac sign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of abuse, violence, and murder. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. At 1.45 a.m. on March 8, 1990, Eddie Seda stood in the frigid air outside a subway stop in New York. But rather than waiting for the next train, the 22-year-old was lurking in the shadows, waiting for Mario Rosco, a Scorpio. Eddie felt the rumble of the subway. The heat of the train warmed the station, sending a gust of hot air through the grates.

As the machine trampled toward him, it squealed to a halt. Then, like clockwork, the doors slid open, and 59-year-old Mario stepped off the train with the help of his cane. Eddie smiled when he saw his quarry emerge from the station. It was time. As Mario walked slowly home, Seda stalked him from across the street, his heart pounding with excitement. Then, like a lion springing on his prey, Eddie launched himself across the road and barreled toward

Mario. He placed his homemade gun against Mario's back. There was no hesitation. He fired. The Scorpio sank to the ground, groaning. Eddie stood over him. He couldn't take his eyes off the blood seeping from Mario's body. It made him feel powerful, invincible even, like God himself.

Eddie looked into the black winter sky. Above him, his constellation, the Leo, glimmered with approval. The reign of the New York Zodiac had begun. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is Cereal Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're exploring the copycat crimes of Eriberto or Eddie Seda. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson.

Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. In today's episode, we'll begin with Eddie's childhood obsession with power, from religion to violence. We'll watch him take inspiration from San Francisco's Zodiac Killer, leading him to write cryptic letters to police and reporters. Finally, we'll follow Eddie as he wanders New York with homemade weapons, looking for the perfect victims. Next time, we'll dive into Eddie's patterns and detail the mishaps that eventually led to his unraveling.

We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the lonely hearts killers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These are infamous criminal duels, but you don't need to break any laws to find your perfect business partner because you have Shopify. It's the commerce platform that can help you with literally everything, website design, marketing, shipping, and more. So start your business today with the best partner, Shopify, and get that.

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Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. People react to astrology in all sorts of ways. The idea that every single personality trait, feeling in action, could be tied to celestial bodies unfathomably far away, can cause skeptical eye roles in a lot of people. But for others, the compass-like chart with its delicate lines stretching from symbol to symbol acts like a reassuring map. In the unknown chaos of life, the stars can provide light and order. They tell us about ourselves and others. Born on July 31, 1967, Eriberto Seda was a Leo.

According to his chart, he was a man of strength and ambition. Of course, the line within him also delivered ego, pride, and jealousy. Above all, according to the planets, Eddie was destined for greatness. Whatever the stars promised, the reality of Eddie's childhood was much more complicated. His mother, a religious and beautiful woman named Carmen Gladys Alvarado, raised her two daughters and Eddie on the third floor of a Brooklyn walk-up. The Brown Brigg apartment was tucked between a row of identical rundown structures. Outside, drug dealers took business, sex workers stood chatting on corners, and unhousing.

people begged for money that nobody could spare. A lot of nights, Eddie fell asleep to the sound of gunshots echoing through his neighborhood. Still, Carmen did her best to bring the children up on strict religious values, which included sexual abstinence, regular mass attendance, and zero drugs or alcohol. Of course, these aren't uncommon boundaries for a religious household, but Carmen's fear that her kids would end up like the people outside was so strong that she went a step further than most. Carmen kept them inside their tiny apartment at virtually any cost. She hoped that their safe and sheltered life they lived inside their home,

would shield them from the chaos outside the door. She also wouldn't let Eddie and his siblings leave the apartment without her. So even though there may have been plenty of potential friends outside their doors, Eddie rarely engaged with them. Instead, he was left to play on his own. Eddie likely didn't mind, though. And he may not have even noticed how isolated his upbringing was compared to other kids in his neighborhood. After all, his mother doted on him endlessly, providing constant love. Plus, he had two

older siblings who gave him almost constant attention, too. And it helped that Eddie was raised to enjoy the rules and routine of Christianity. The rhythm of prayers before meals, rosaries before bed, and mass on Sundays, offered stability and something to look forward to. And his mother made sure the kids understood that God's favor was special, important. They were different from their sinful neighbors. They were better. So Eddie played alone in the safety of his small Brooklyn apartment. Sometimes a young boy who lived a couple of floors down from the Setas would come by the apartment, though rarely by choice. The boy's mom would drop him off when she needed a babysitter and he was left to play with Eddie. They'd watch cartoons and sometimes put together plastic cars or planes. But for

For the most part, Eddie was a loner. The other boy noticed how quiet Eddie was, rarely talking unless absolutely necessary. He gravitated towards solitary hobbies like reading, assembling puzzles, and building toy models. During this time, he grew especially interested in the military. He loved the strength, righteousness, and intrinsic power of an army man. He dreamt of becoming a green beret.

By the age of 10, Eddie was spending most of his days reading about special ops forces. and building toy models of tanks. It was a relatively happy childhood until Carmen met her third husband. By 1979, Carmen had married the new man and was preparing for a big arrival, a baby girl, Chachi. To some, gaining a younger sister

might be the best day of a kid's life. To Eddie, it was like his whole world had been flipped upside down. His entire life, he'd been the youngest, the only boy, the star of the family. But now it felt like this baby had taken all of his mother's love away from him. Though we barely had a social life before, he retreated completely from other people after she was born. Instead of being outgoing and even bubbly at times, he became withdrawn and sullen. Perhaps to gain back Carmen's favor, or maybe to fill his new free time, Eddie threw himself into

religion. Catholicism is steeped in tradition and repetition. It's easy to imagine Eddie as a preteen becoming obsessed with the repetition of the rosary. The beads between his fingers and the hum of prayer might have offered comfort during a time of domestic upheaval. Pouring over the Spanish Bible, Eddie waited for some form of enlightenment to take over him. It's unclear when, but while looking through other religious texts, Eddie came across the sixth and seventh books of Moses. The book claims to be the previously unknown final books written by Moses. The text includes invocations, magic words, and seals meant to call upon the angels to affect worldly ends.

But in addition to angels, the book also describes how to summon power from the devil. Fascinated, Eddie thumbed through these pages, circling sections that promised protection and strength, and he didn't stop there. The writings of German magician Johann Georg Faust were particularly compelling to the young boy. In the late 1400s, Faust used alchemy and astronomy in efforts to summon demons and angels alike. Perhaps inspired by Faust, Eddie eventually bought a large poster of all of the constellations in the sky. He hung it in his room, where he could see the Leo symbol tucked in the left middle portion of the night sky. Whereas some people use religion and astrology for inner peace, Eddie seemed more interested in leveraging these things for his own gain. Specifically,

over his younger half-sister, Chachi. His resentment toward her had built up for years. Since she'd come into the family, all the attention had been stripped from Eddie, and by the time he was 13, his displeasure about her presence spilled over. He directed toward her all of his anger over losing his mother's favor

and began beating the three-year-old. Though Chachi was just a toddler, Eddie would slap and hit her at virtually any annoyance. Carmen didn't know what to do about her son. She couldn't or didn't interfere with his violence against Chachi, nor did she take him to get professional help. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa's not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist,

but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. It's possible that Carmen's devotion to her faith contributed to her choice to not reach out for help. According to Catholic clinical psychologists, the over-spiritualization of psychological issues continues to be an issue among devout Catholics, because it can prevent them from seeking assistance outside the church. In times of crisis, they might reach out to their religious leaders who can be well equipped to handle personal issues, but aren't licensed social workers.

But sometimes they won't even reach out to their church leadership, because coming forward about issues like these can be accompanied by shame and feelings of failure in religious communities. Whatever the reason, Eddie's mother Carmen never sought professional help for his behavior. And so, the teen's violent tendencies continued uninterrupted for years. In the halls of Franklin K. Lane High School, Eddie had always been a quiet loner with decent grades. But around 1984, the 17-year-old decided he had something to share with his classmates. After years of tinkering, he'd finally completed his first working pistol.

He'd strap rubber bands and shoestrings together with metal pipes to create it. Eddie was immensely proud of his hard work. After all, he'd spent years studying military machinery, and now he'd finally built his own weapon. So when he took it to school, he was probably expecting his peers to have the same response he did. To show off his new plastic artillery, he shot it off at school. We don't know exactly where he aimed it,

but it seems like he pointed it toward the wall or toward the sky. Smiling, Eddie fired the gun, reveling in the ear-ringing boom that accompanied a cloud of smoke. But when he turned to face his peers and teachers, all he saw was horror. The school suspended Eddie for the stunt. Perhaps it was his Leo pride or the memory of his mother's rejection, but Eddie was infuriated by the decision. He felt utterly betrayed, but able to see why his actions required punishment. Once his suspension ended, he attended a few days of class here and there, but eventually he stopped going to school entirely.

Now that they'd forsaken him, it seemed Eddie was done with his education. At some point in 1985, Eddie spoke to Army recruiters about fulfilling his dream of becoming a military man. He was still a year short of the age requirement, but minors could get into the service with the parents' permission. There was a test, too, but Eddie was confident he would pass. After all, the 17-year-old knew everything there was to know about the military, or at least, so he thought. But to Eddie's dismay, the army rejected his application. He later said that he failed part of the test.

And according to one source, it was a psychological evaluation, though Eddie never admitted to this. However, Eddie's mother had another story. Carmen later told people that she didn't allow him to go because he was her only son. So it's possible that she refused to sign her permission on his application. Either way, Eddie was once again furious. He was frustrated that he'd gone to the trouble of learning so much about combat and espionage but wasn't allowed to use those skills in the real world.

He wondered what all that effort had been for. He didn't know that inspiration was just. around the corner. Coming up, Eddie writes the first of his letters of terror. Of all the mysteries in the world, perhaps the greatest is, when will it all end? Or rather, how? Hi, listeners, it's Richard and Molly from the Spotify original from Parcast,

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to threats from space and nuclear warfare. We'll even explore how advancements in technology could be our undoing. Do any of us have anything to truly be scared of? Therein lies the mystery. Listen to the Unexplained Mysteries Five Part Doomsday Special Free and Only on Spotify Are you looking for support in your weight management journey?

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At least that's what it felt like to him. The anger he felt poured out of him, sustained by his own sense of superiority and violent annoyance towards his little sister. After the military didn't accept Eddie's application in 1985, he refused to reapply once he turned 18. It was just like his suspension from high school. If they didn't want him, then they didn't deserve him. But without a high school diploma or future in the surface, Eddie had little purpose in his life.

For Eddie, though, having a passion was vital to his ethos. He needed to feel wanted, impactful. He thought of himself as an above-average individual, better than the rest. Before he left school, he got good grades. and now in the streets he might have stuck out. He was a handsome youth with long dark hair, sweet brown eyes, and a shy smile. Plus, years of hiding behind books made him knowledgeable about an array of subjects. He just needed to find a way to make his impact on the world.

So once again, he turned to religion. In the evenings, Eddie would walk through the dark streets of East New York, delving into alleyways and abandoned lots. He approached drug dealers, sex workers, or, or any unlucky sinner with his Bible in hand. Then Eddie preached about the Word of God. We don't know how these interactions went, but it's likely that Eddie saw this

as his way of using his righteousness to make the world a better place. Eddie also made it a habit to call the police on his neighbors with tips about who was selling drugs. Every time he picked up the phone, he felt like he was doing his part to clean up the city of sinners and scum. But in the midst of his preaching activities,

Eddie himself engaged in some other questionable affairs. Back at his mom's house, he'd made himself a homemade device that could siphon money out of pay phones. The contraption was simple but effective. It consisted of a string and a plastic bag. All he had to do was insert the string into the coin return slot, and then, whenever someone used the machine, their coins would fall into the bag. Getting money from innocent bystanders was an easy side hustle for Eddie. It was like he'd outsmarted the system.

So while Eddie had no problem calling the cops on others for sinning, he also didn't seem to have an issue with his own moral failings. It's like his code of ethics only applied to others, which could have been a sign of a narcissistic personality disorder. Though to be clear, he was never diagnosed with any particular condition. So all we're doing here is speculating about his actions. According to a 2018 study published by the European Journal of Psychology, narcissists tend to cater toward their own personal moral standards instead of ideals that are deemed ethical by society. So even though the Bible preaches against stealing, he felt no guilt for his payphone scam. But it wasn't just outside the home where Eddie felt superior.

In that third floor walk-up, he decided to assert his dominance over everyone else. Shortly after his rejection from the military, Eddie claimed the role of head of the household. He started laying down rules that further isolated him and his family from the rest of their community. Eddie wouldn't allow anyone besides family inside the home, and if anyone talked back to him, he lost his temper. Carmen seemed to stay out of his way as much as possible, and he practically stopped talking to her after high school. Though this was likely hurtful, it was nothing compared to how he treated his half-sister, Chachi. She bore the brunt of his wrath more than anyone else. As Eddie got older, she became his personal torture victim.

He slapped her, pinned her down and beat her, and even snuck into her room at night to smother her with a pillow. It's possible this anger toward Chachi stemmed from Eddie's perception that the younger siblings stole his mother's love. But his attacks made it clear that violence was baked into his everyday life. At some point in early 1989, the neighbors called the police about screams coming from down the hall. but apparently unable to prove Eddie had done anything wrong.

The police didn't levy any criminal charges against him. With his attacks against Chachi drawing too much attention, Eddie needed to find another outlet, and now that he was less inclined to help the police by tipping them off to potential criminals, he took up a new hobby. Late in the evening, Eddie dressed from head to toe in black, as if he was going into nighttime combat.

Then he crept out of his apartment and wandered the same. By now, instead of confronting people with his Bible, he simply watched them. Eddie found a thrill in observing people without their knowing. It felt like he was omnipotent. In one of his psychology books at home, he even circled the term voyeurism in a possible attempt to self-diagnose. Perhaps his narcissistic tendencies fueled this craving for power, or maybe this was his way of living out his army dreams. It was like he was stalking the enemy.

But with so much rubeesies, resentment and anger inside of him. He couldn't just watch forever. One day in mid-1989, Eddie was flipping through channels when he came across a PBS special on San Francisco's infamous tormentor, The Zodiac Killer. And the story set his imagination on fire. If you're unfamiliar with the nightmarish case, here's a quick refresher. The Zodiac killed at least five people and sent taunting letters to the police and San Francisco newspapers. These notes usually started with, this is the Zodiac speaking, and included a cipher with terrifying messages.

One message threatened to shoot children coming off of school buses. For weeks after that, parents were afraid to let their kids go outside, even to school. San Francisco police tried in vain to catch the Zodiac killer, but the murders only stopped when the zodiac seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. To this day, the case is infamously and chillingly unsolved. As minutes ticked on in that PBS documentary, Eddie found himself hanging on every detail of the program. There were those little things like how each of the zodiac's letters was signed with a circle with a cross through the middle, the crosshairs of a gun. Then there were the bigger things, how the killer exerted their control over the entire city,

like puppet master to the terrified community. They'd created hysteria through their letters, the slayings, and the infuriating fact of their anonymity. Perhaps most tantalizing of all was the notoriety the killer had gained. Their fame was unparalleled. By the time the program was over, he was sure he'd found his calling. He thought about how the killer had murdered so many people and had never come close to capture. Thinking about it, Eddie felt like he had all the same skills as the Zodiac.

He was smart, he knew about magic and mysticism, and he enjoyed the thought of violence. Besides, he thought, he had very little else to live for. Eddie thought that if he could pull off feats like the Zodiac Killer, he too could become famous. It was the notoriety and attention he'd long craved. The love he felt his mom had neglected to give. Now he'd finally get it from all of New York. If Eddie was motivated to kill by watching the documentary, about the Zodiac Killer, he wouldn't have been the first criminal to have experienced the phenomenon,

and he certainly wasn't the last. Media plays a heavy role in what we think and do in our daily lives. For most of us, that might look like choosing one shampoo brand over another when we're at the store, but for some people, it's not that mundane. Jacqueline Helfgot, a professor of criminal justice at Seattle University, says that there's a subset of people who she calls the edge sitters. They're those who exist on the cusp between a life of normalcy and a life of crime. And it's easy enough for just one small event, one movie, or an article to set them off. Professor Helfgot says that edge sitters can be particularly affected by media, especially violent crime. And edge sitters might learn how to pull off their crimes by simply mimicking those on TV. In this case, the Zodiac had

such a strong ammo that Eddie had a clear and easy template to work off of. Eddie also believed stealing the Zodiac's persona would confuse police. He wanted them to believe San Francisco's killer had resurfaced, 20 years later on the other side of the country, hungry for more blood. So in November of 1989, Eddie made his first move. Hunched over his desk in his room, he drew a circle with 11 of the 12 Zodiac signs on a piece of paper. In hasty handwriting, he scrawled the famous words, This is the Zodiac.

But of course, Eddie couldn't resist adding his own flair to the letters. He'd always been interested in the niche cornerstone of Christianity, magic, and astrology. The original zodiac killers' nods to the celestial bodies were slight, but Eddie wanted to go big. His plan was to kill one person of each zodiac sign. In his letter, he claimed to have already killed a Taurus, though there was no proof of this. He also wrote a riddle inspired by the book of Job. Orion is the one that can stop Zodiac and the seven sister. Signing the letter with the infamous cross circle of the Zodiac killer,

that he folded it, stuck it into an envelope, then wrote anti-crime for the address. Just for good measure, he included another of the Zodiac signature crosses on the lower left corner as well. On November 17th, he sent it to the 75th police precinct in East New York. Now he just needed to wait for panic to take hold. It never came.

Despite, or perhaps even because of the zodiac symbols, the officers dismissed the quote as something written by an emotionally disturbed person. It was even copied and passed around the precinct as a joke. Remember, at the end of the day, they didn't have a crime to investigate. They just had a letter. But little did they know, 22-year-old Eddie Seda was assembling a mass of homemade weapons. He'd give them a crime soon enough. Coming up, Eddie Goes Hunting.

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Now back to the story. In the winter of 1989, 22-year-old Eddie Seda had spent years obsessed with the military, fascinated by astrology and religion, and dabbled with nighttime stalking. His plan was to plunge New York into terror by mimicking San Francisco's anonymous Zodiac Killer. It was his path to stardom.

Eddie was likely disappointed about the lack of publicity after he sent his first Zodiac letter to the police, but he still had plenty to keep him busy. First, he needed to identify his victims. So as the new year began, Eddie turned his midnight walks into an opportunity to scout out potential targets. He apparently chose victims based on their zodiac sign, though it's unclear how he learned the birthdays of total strangers.

But once he picked someone, he began following them around, getting to know their routine. During this time, he also built up his homemade Arsson. It seemed his mother and sisters stayed out of his way enough for him to stockpile all the weapons he could create by hand. Using scraps and pipes, he made over a dozen guns. On nights when his family was out of the apartment, he even practiced firing them in his room, aiming at giant phone books. Just like in high school, he kept his supplies in his room, where neither his mother nor Chachi dared to go. And as the New York winter finally began to thaw, Eddie watched, waiting.

for the stars to align. Literally. Finally, on March 8th, 1990, it happened. That night, neither Orion nor the Seven Sisters were in the night sky, just as he predicted in his letter to the police, it was time. The 22-year-old dressed himself in all-black. He wore gloves, a scarf over his face, and dark leather boots with two and a half-inch heels. He learned somewhere that witnesses claimed that the original zodiac killer was tall, and he wanted to match his height. Once he was dressed, he wrote a prayer on a piece of paper and tied it around his neck using string for protection. Next, Eddie anointed himself with a mixture of rose oil, salt, and water, all while reciting the 20th Psalm seven times.

Finally, he was ready. At around 1.45 in the morning, Eddie stood outside of a subway stop in Brooklyn, hiding in the shadows. He likely felt like the green beret he'd always dreamed of being. Right on time, 59-year-old Mario Orozco limped off the subway with the help of his cane. After nights of careful observation, Eddie knew that Mario came from his restaurant job in Manhattan and had 10 blocks to walk from the station to his home. Eddie couldn't let him get there. Eddie stalked Mario, waiting for the right moment.

After a few blocks, he marched out of the shadows and up to his victim. Then he placed his homemade gun against Mario's back and fired. The older man screamed and dropped to the ground. Eddie stood over him and watched him bleed. It's hard to know what Eddie was thinking at that moment. Perhaps he couldn't comprehend the line he had crossed. Maybe he was overcome with guilt. But on the other hand, a man who felt bad might try to help,

which Eddie certainly didn't do. Instead, he stood back, staring down at him. at Mario as blood leaked from his body. Eventually, Mario's eyes shut and his breathing slowed. So Eddie took one last look before he set another letter on the ground and ran back home. He left his first victim, a Scorpio, in the streets, to die. Only that's not what happened. Minutes after Eddie fled the scene, Mario stopped playing dead.

He blinked his eyes open, slowly and Hase's attacker was still around. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. The 59-year-old lifted himself off the ground and walked home with a bullet in his back. He even made himself a pot of coffee before calling the police. When officers talked to Mario, he didn't remember anything noteworthy about his attacker. And they didn't find anything useful at the scene of the crime. The letter Eddie had left was apparently gone. It's possible that someone stole Eddie's note, or maybe it blew away in the wind, swept away like common trash.

Meanwhile, Eddie read the newspapers, tuned into local radio, and hovered around the television, excited to hear about the return of the Zodiac Killer. But to his annoyance, there was nothing. He had no idea that Mario had survived the attack, had no idea that his homemade gun wasn't as effective as he'd hoped. Either way, he was back to where he started. Square one. But less than two weeks later, Orion and the Seven Sisters vanished from the skies once more. On March 29, 1990, Eddie went out hunting again. He had already picked out a few potential victims based on their signs and routines. Sitting on the cold metal of the stadium bleachers at Franklin K. Lane High School, Eddie waited for the opportunity to pounce. It was different from his

own high school days when he was the outcast who'd been suspended and then dropped out of school, now he was a strong and dominant Leo, anointed in rose oil, protected by a psalm, and making his mark on the world. Excitement pounded in his chest like a drum. That's when he saw a 34-year-old Germain Montenestro. Germain was walking up the subway stop stairs, a quart of liquor still tight in his grip. The man was visibly intoxicated, and Eddie couldn't help, but watch him. It was immediately apparent to Eddie that Germain would be an easy target. It almost seemed like divine intervention, the way he stumbled directly into Eddie's waiting

arms. Eddie smiled, believing that God supported his mission. But Eddie had already warned the police that as the Zodiac, he was killing off one of each Zodiac sign. If this man was a Scorpio like Mario, his whole charade would unravel. Still, he couldn't miss out on such an easy target, especially one who was so clearly a sinner. According to information in a 2018 study published by Eastern Illinois University's Clinical Psychology Department, this kind of thing helps us categorize Eddie as a mission-oriented type

of serial killer. These murderers believe it's their purpose, if not duty, to kill a certain group of people. Eddie was adamant about his goal to get rid of drug dealers, sex workers, and the other so-called sinners of society. Germaine Montenestro seemed to fit perfectly into the category, even if he might not fit into the more complicated, zodiac-inspired plan he'd set for himself. Eddie left his spot on the bleachers and approached Germain as quietly as possible.

Germain, perhaps hearing Eddie's footsteps, started to turn towards him. That's when Eddie raised his zip gun and fired. The loud bang of the shot echoed through the streets, and Germain fell to the ground. Wasting no time, Eddie shuffled through his victim's pockets, but he wasn't looking for cash. Instead, he pulled out an ID and ran. Only when he was a few blocks away did Eddie have the courage to check the birth date,

May 28th. Germain was a Gemini. Eddie took this as another sign from God and went home happy, sure that Germain was dead. But once again, he failed to make sure that his victim had stopped breathing. Jermaine woke up a few minutes later with a bullet in his left side. Like Mario, he struggled home and called the police. And also like Mario, Jermaine couldn't give the authorities any helpful details about his attacker.

Back at home, Eddie waited for the city's terror to ignite. He waited for news headlines like, The Zodiac is Back, or Watch Out Boogie Man in Brooklyn. But there was nothing. There wasn't any talk about the Scorpio and the Gemini being killed or about that letter he laid next to his first victim. No one mentioned that a menace was wreaking havoc on New York. This frustrated Eddie to no end. He spent the next few days holed up in his room, making guns, reading Bible passages, and thinking about his next steps. Through all of this, it's unlikely he ever experienced doubt that his plan would work.

The way he saw it, he was destined to become the most infamous killer. New York had ever seen. After all, it was written in the stars. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. We'll be back soon with part two of the New York Zodiac Killer, in which an unexpected event leads to Eddie's unraveling. For more information on the Eddie Seda family, amongst the many sources we used,

we found Sleep My Little Dead, the true story of the Zodiac Killer, by Kieran Crowley, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Serial Killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Stay safe out there. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast,

executive produced by Max Cuddler. Our head of programming is Julian Boireau. Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of production and Trent Williamson as our senior production specialist. Ben Bishop is our supervising editor, And Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Kit Fitzgerald,

edited by Amber von Schassen and Joel Callen, fact-checked by Haley Milliken, researched by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood, produced by Bruce Kitovich and sound designed by Michael Motion. Our hosts are Greg Paulson and me, Vanessa Richardson. An Alien Invasion, Nuclear Warfare, the Second Coming, how will the world end?

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