Man Indicted in Burning Death of Woman Inside a New York City Subway Train, Prosecutors Say

By Associated Press

Published 6 months ago on

December 27, 2024

Horrific subway murder raises new safety concerns in NYC transit system as suspect faces multiple charges. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

Suspect Sebastian Zapeta faces life imprisonment without parole for allegedly burning a woman to death on NYC subway.
Police and medical examiners work to identify the victim while investigating her movements before the tragic incident.
Despite overall crime decrease in NYC subway system, homicides have increased with nine killings through November 2023.

NEW YORK — The man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train has been indicted on murder and arson charges, a prosecutor said on Friday, as authorities continue working to confirm the victim’s identity.

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

Zapeta’s indictment will be unsealed on Jan. 7, according to prosecutors. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told reporters that Zapeta has been charged with multiple counts of murder as well as an arson charge. The top charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

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. 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.

Details of the Horrific Attack

Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who might have been sleeping on the train, on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station, and set her clothing on fire with a lighter on Sunday morning. He fanned the flames with a shirt, causing her to become engulfed in flames, authorities said.

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

Gonzalez told reporters on Friday that police and medical examiners are working to identify the woman using fingerprints and advanced DNA techniques, while also retracing her steps before the killing.

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

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.

Safety Concerns in NYC Transit System

The harrowing episode has renewed concerns about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system.

Overall, crime in the subway is relatively rare, with trains and platforms generally as safe as any other public place in New York City. Police data shows major crimes were down this year through November, compared to the same period in 2023.

But homicides were up, with nine killings through November versus five during the same time frame last year. That figure doesn’t include the woman who was burned to death, nor a man who was fatally stabbed at a Queens subway station the same day.

High-profile incidents such as stabbings and shovings also put many riders on edge in a city where millions ride the rails every day.

“When you have these incidents, it overshadows the success and it plays on the psyche of New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a televised interview earlier this week, noting that many high-profile incidents involve people with mental health issues.