Man charged with murder in setting fire to homeless woman in subway car in Brooklyn

Man charged with murder in setting fire to homeless woman in subway car in Brooklyn

The suspect arrested for setting a homeless woman on fire and killing her on an F train that stopped at a Coney Island subway station was charged Monday with her gruesome murder.

Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old Guatemalan immigrant living in Brooklyn, was charged with first- and second-degree murder and arson, officials said. He was nabbed by police officers at the 34th Street-Herald Square subway station in Manhattan on Sunday afternoon after three high school students saw him on a train and called 911.

The suspect appears to have only one transit citation on his record, but was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when he entered the country in 2018.

“The depravity of this terrible crime is unimaginable, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “This cruel and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will have serious consequences. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe on our subways, and we will do everything in our power to take responsibility in this case.

A disturbing video obtained by the Daily News shows the woman, whose identity has not yet been determined, standing with her clothing on fire near the door of a stopped subway car at the Coney Island station just before 7:30 a.m. Sunday -Stillwell Ave. stands – while a man sits a few meters away on a bench on the platform and casually watches it burn.

Police said the man in the video was the suspect who remained at the scene after setting the victim on fire with a lighter in the subway car.

The woman and the suspect took the train to Coney Island and did not know each other, police said.

“Officers patrolling an upper level of this station smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. “What they saw was a person standing in the train car that was completely engulfed in flames,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. “With the help of an MTA employee and a fire extinguisher, the flames were extinguished. Unfortunately, it was too late and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had remained at the scene and was sitting on a bench on the platform directly in front of the train car,” Tisch added.

Police cameras captured crystal clear images of the suspect, which were then released to the public.

Three teenagers recognized the man in the photos and called 911, allowing NYPD and public transit officials to work together to arrest him at a subway station in Manhattan, Tisch said.

With John Annese

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