NEW YORK (AP) Authorities are still trying to identify the victim, but prosecutors said Friday that the man who is suspected of killing a sleeping woman by burning her inside a New York City subway train has been charged with murder and arson.
Prosecutors claim Sebastian Zapeta set the woman on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on Sunday morning, then used a shirt to fan the flames, engulfing her in the flames before resting on a platform bench and watching her burn.
This action was malevolent. Following a brief court hearing where the indictment was revealed, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez described the woman as a sleeping, defenseless person on our subway system.
According to him, Zapeta faces several murder charges in addition to an arson accusation. The maximum penalty for the most serious charge is life in prison without the possibility of release. On January 7, the indictment will be made public.
The 33-year-old Zapeta did not attend the session, and his lawyer later chose not to comment.
Zapeta was arrested later Sunday after federal immigration agents said he was a Guatemalan national who had entered the country illegally. Prosecutors believe that while he identified himself in pictures and security footage of the fire being started, he denied knowing what had transpired during police interrogation, mentioning that he drinks alcohol.
Earlier this week, he was first accused of murder and arson in a criminal complaint. Since all felony cases in New York require a grand jury indictment before going to trial unless the defendant waives that obligation, such filings are frequently the initial step in the criminal process.
Gonzalez informed reporters that police and medical examiners are retracing the woman’s steps before to the murder in an effort to identify her using fingerprints and cutting-edge DNA procedures.
Gonzalez stated, “We know that there is a family, and our hearts are with this victim as well.” A person’s family may still be grieved by the terrible manner in which she passed away, even if it seems that she was homeless.
Following his detention, police gave Zapeta a Brooklyn address that corresponds to a facility that offers both lodging and drug rehab services. He was deported in 2018, according to federal immigration officials, but he returned to the country illegally at some point after that.
According to a representative for the mayor’s office this week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has instructed police to collaborate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigative team in order to investigate criminal charges against Zapeta under the federal arson legislation.
Gonzalez contended on Friday that a harsher punishment might be imposed as a result of the state charges his agency filed.
According to Gonzalez, “I believe that this crime occurred in Brooklyn, New York City, and that the people of this county should serve on the jury there. I have a lot of faith in the people of Brooklyn and those who come and serve on jury duty here.”
The terrifying incident has sparked a new conversation about safety in the biggest mass transit system in the country.
Subway trains and platforms are generally as safe as any other public area in New York City, and crime is comparatively uncommon there.When compared to the same period in 2023, police data indicates that significant offenses decreased this year through November.
However, there was an increase in homicides, with nine killings through November as opposed to five during the same period the previous year. The man who was fatally stabbed at a Queens subway station that same day and the woman who was burned to death are not included in that number.
In a city where millions of people use the rails every day, high-profile incidents like stabbings and shovings also make many users uneasy.
In a television interview earlier this week, Adams stated that many high-profile situations include individuals with mental health concerns, adding that when you have these tragedies, it overshadows the achievement and plays on the psychology of New Yorkers.
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