Man accused in the burning death of a woman on a New York subway awaits arraignment

NEW YORK -- A man accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames is awaiting arraignment on Tuesday.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, is facing murder and arson charges in the woman’s death.

Federal immigration officials said Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after he was previously deported in 2018.

The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn, police said.

Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who was sitting motionless in the train car and may have been sleeping, and used a lighter to set her clothing on fire. The woman quickly became engulfed in flames, while Zapeta then sat at a bench on the subway platform and watched as police officers and a transit worker doused the fire, according to police.

The woman, whose identity has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Zapeta was arrested Sunday afternoon while riding a train on the same subway line after police got a tip from some teenagers who recognized him from images circulated by the police.

It was unclear if Zapeta has an attorney. A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the attack a “gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman” that would be “met with the most serious consequences.”

The crime — and a graphic video of it that ricocheted across social media — deepened a growing sense of unease among New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system.

Violent crimes on trains in the city can put riders on edge, in part because most New Yorkers take the subway multiple times each day and often have their own experiences with uncomfortable interactions in the system.

Policing the subway is also difficult, given the vast network of trains constantly moving between the system's 472 stations, with each stop containing multiple entry points and, in many stations, multiple floors and platforms. On Sunday, police at the station where the woman burned to death were patrolling a different area and responded after seeing and smelling smoke, authorities said.

Overall, according to authorities, crime is down in the transit system this year when compared to last year.

Major felonies declined 6% between January and November of this year and in 2023, data compiled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority show. But murders are up, with nine killings this year through November compared to five in the same period last year.

At the same time, high-profile incidents on the train — such as the case of Daniel Penny, a military veteran who choked an agitated New York subway rider and was acquitted of homicide this month — often attract national attention and further frighten passengers.