Sebastian Zapeta, suspected of burning a woman to death on a train, is taken from the New York Police Department 60th Precinct in Brooklyn.Photo:Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty
Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty
A man who allegedly killed a woman after setting her on fire on a New York City subway told police he “doesn’t know what happened,“NBC Newsreports.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33,allegedly used a lighterto start the fatal fire on Sunday, Dec. 22. When the victim, who has not been identified, was consumed in the blaze, Zapeta-Calil allegedly began “fanning the flames with a shirt,” a prosecutor alleged during his arraignment in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Dec. 24.
Surveillance footage showed the victim sleeping on an immobile F train at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station around 7:30 a.m. Zapeta-Calil, who was sitting across from her, then allegedly set her and the blanket she was underneath on fire,CNNreported, citing a complaint from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
The prosecutor added that Zapeta-Calil told police after the incident that “he drinks a lot of liquor” and “doesn’t know what happened.”
A walker was discovered close to the scene, indicating that the woman had trouble getting around on her own. She was wearing several layers of clothing, and officials believe that’s what caused the fire to spread. The woman is over 18, and a law enforcement official informedThe New York Timesthat she appeared to be homeless.
Zapeta-Calil was arrested after three high school students recognized his face when surveillance footage and pictures were released to the public. He was later found at a Herald Square train with a lighter in his pocket, NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said, per CNN.
The New York City Office of the Medical Examiner ruled the woman’s death a homicide, noting that she died of “thermal injuries and smoke inhalation,” NBC News reports, citing court papers.
During his court appearance, he was charged with first- and second-degree murder as well as arson, according tocourt docs. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and was remanded to custody without bail.
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Zapeta-Calil, who was seemingly wearing the same hazmat suit he wore when being escorted out of a local police station, isdue back in courton Friday, Dec. 27, at 9 a.m. local time. NYPD previously told PEOPLE is an “unlawfully present Guatemalan citizen” who had been deported in 2018.
PEOPLE reached out to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
source: people.com
