NEW YORK (AP) — Man accused of killing set a woman on fire On a New York City subway train, he used his shirt to fan the flames, causing the blaze to engulf her, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, made his first appearance in court and was charged in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
He appeared briefly before a judge wearing a white jumpsuit over a distressed black hooded sweatshirt. He didn’t speak. He will remain in jail ahead of his next court hearing on Friday.
The seemingly random attack took place on Sunday morning on a stationary F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station. Police said Tuesday that the victim’s identification was “still pending at this time.”
Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who was sitting motionless in the train car and possibly sleeping, and used a lighter to set her clothing on fire. Zapeta then used his shirt to fan the flames, causing her to fall into the fire, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said Tuesday.
Zapeta then sat on a bench on the subway platform and watched, police said.
Rottenberg added that during interrogation, Zapeta said he did not know what happened, noting that he consumes alcohol. But he claimed Zapeta identified himself to interrogators in footage linked to the attack.
A video posted to social media appeared to show the woman engulfed in flames on the train as some people watched from the platform, and at least one officer walked by. NYPD Chief of Police Joseph Gulotta said Sunday that several officers responded to the fire and that one stayed to keep the scene “as it should be” while the others went to get fire extinguishers and transit workers.
They eventually managed to put out the fire, but “unfortunately it was too late,” said Police Chief Jessica Tisch – the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Zapeta was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon while on a train on the same metro line, after police received a tip from some teenagers who recognized him from images distributed by police.
An address released by police for Zapeta in Brooklyn matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal immigration officials said Zapeta had been deported earlier in 2018 but had entered the U.S. illegally at some point.
In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the attack a “heinous and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman” that “would have the most serious consequences.”
The crime — and the harrowing video of it circulating on social media — added to a growing sense of unease among some New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system in a city where many residents take the subway several times a day.
According to authorities, crime on public transport has fallen overall this year compared to last year. Major crimes fell 6% between January and November of this year and in 2023, according to data collected by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But the number of homicides is up, with nine homicides this year through November, compared to five in the same period last year.
Earlier this month, a Manhattan jury acquitted Daniel Penny in the death of an agitated subway passenger who placed the former Marine in a chokehold last year. The case became a flashpoint in the ongoing debates about safety, homelessness and mental illness in the system.
Controlling the Metro is also difficult, given the vast network of trains that run continuously between the system’s 472 stations, with each stop having multiple access points and, in many stations, multiple floors and platforms.
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On Sunday, police patrolled the station where the woman was burned in another area and responded after seeing and smelling smoke, authorities said.