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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.
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.
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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