Man indicted in burning death of woman inside a New York City subway train, prosecutors say

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Published Dec 27, 2024  •  3 minute read

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. Photo by Curtis Means /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train has been indicted on state charges, a prosecutor said on Friday.

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The development comes days after Sebastian Zapeta’s arrest and subsequent police questioning, in which authorities say he claimed not to know what had happened although he identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.

Zapeta’s indictment will remain under seal until he is arraigned on the new charges, likely in a few weeks, as is standard in New York. He remains jailed at the city’s Rikers Island complex.

The harrowing episode Sunday morning on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station has renewed concerns about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system.

Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, was initially charged in a criminal complaint with murder and arson.

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Such filings are often a first step in the criminal process because, in New York, all felony cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless a defendant waives that requirement.

According to prosecutors, Zapeta approached the woman who may have been sleeping, set her clothing on fire with a lighter and then fanned the flames with a shirt. She has yet to be identified.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — A court hearing is scheduled Friday for the man accused of setting a woman on fire on a New York City subway train and fanning the flames with a shirt as she burned to death.

Sebastian Zapeta has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of arson for the apparently random attack, which occurred early Sunday morning on a train stopped in Brooklyn.

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The 33-year-old man made his first court appearance earlier in the week. He was not required to enter a plea, and his attorney has not responded to requests for comment.

The victim has not yet been publicly identified by police.

Zapeta, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, has been jailed at the city’s Rikers Island complex.

Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who might have been sleeping on the train at the Coney Island station stop, and set her clothing on fire with a lighter. He waved a shirt at her to fan the fire, causing her to become engulfed in flames, prosecutor Ari Rottenberg said during the court appearance Tuesday.

Zapeta then sat on a bench on the platform and watched as she burned, prosecutors allege. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Police took Zapeta into custody while he was riding a train on the same line later that day.

Zapeta told investigators that he drinks a lot of liquor and did not know what had happened, according to Rottenberg. However, Zapeta did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit, the prosecutor said.

A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police after his arrest matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support.

Federal immigration officials said he was deported in 2018 but returned to the U.S. illegally sometime after that.

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