NYC police charge man with murder of woman set on fire on subway
new York — A man faces a first-degree murder charge for allegedly setting fire to a sleeping woman on a New York subway.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was charged Monday with first- and second-degree murder and arson. Shocking crime on the F train over the weekend in Coney Island, Brooklyn, police said.
Sources said Zapeta could be arraigned Monday night, and police said three teenagers who recognized him from a photo released by the NYPD were taken into custody on the day of the subway fire. Police said body camera footage and subway cameras found him sitting on the platform watching the woman burn to death.
According to immigration officials, Zapeta was in New York illegally. They said he re-entered the United States sometime in 2018 after being returned to Guatemala.
Woman set on fire in Brooklyn subway
new york police department
Investigators said Zapeta did not know the woman who was set on fire and there was no interaction between the two before the attack.
The unidentified woman was set on fire while sleeping on the F train at the Stilwell Avenue station in Coney Island around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, police said.
“The suspect used what we believe was a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which was completely engulfed within seconds,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. press conference on sunday night.
Police at the station smelled smoke and saw her standing in the subway car, engulfed in flames. With the help of a traffic worker, they grabbed a fire extinguisher but said the woman died at the scene.
“Unbeknownst to the responding police officers, the suspect had remained at the scene, sitting on a bench on the platform outside the train carriage. The cameras worn by the responding police officers provided a very clear and detailed observation of the murderer,” Ti said Shi said. “Three high school New Yorkers called 911 to say they recognized the suspect. They saw something, they said something, they did something.
After receiving a tip, detectives said they arrested Zapeta at the 34th Street Herald Square station hours after the incident. He was wearing the same clothes as the man Tish described and had a lighter in his pocket, officials said.
U.S. immigration officials sent suspect back to Guatemala in 2018
new york police department
On Monday, Zapeta was handcuffed and escorted out of the 60th Precinct in Brooklyn by police. Police said he was staying at a men’s shelter in East New York. The shelter did not immediately respond to CBS News New York’s request for comment.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Zapeta was an “illegal Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States in 2018 without permission from immigration officials” and returned to Guatemala less than a week later.
ICE officials said they did not know when or where Zapeta re-entered the United States, and the agency will join the New York Police Department in placing him in immigration custody.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said: “The depravity of this horrific crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice. This kind of targeting of vulnerable women “will face the most severe consequences for this horrific and senseless act of violence.” “Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe on the subway, and we will do everything we can to ensure accountability in this case.”
contributed to this report.
