Illegal charged with lighting sleeping woman on fire pleads not guilty
Sebastian Zapeta, the Guatemalan man accused of lighting a sleeping subway rider on fire and watching her burn to death on a Brooklyn subway car, pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges Tuesday.
The 33-year-old was indicted on one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, and arson.
Zapeta listened through an interpreter and did not speak during the 4-minute hearing. His lawyer, at the end, said his client needed medical attention, but additional details were not immediately available.
Zapeta entered the U.S. illegally in 2018, according to authorities. He was deported, and returned to the country at an unknown time.
NYPD ARRESTS MIGRANT WHO ALLEGEDLY SET WOMAN ON FIRE ON SUBWAY TRAIN, WATCHED HER BURN TO DEATH
He made his way to New York and on Dec. 22 allegedly lit the woman on fire as she slept on a subway bench.
The victim has been identified as Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old from Toms River, New Jersey. She was so badly burned it took more than a week to identify her remains.
Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, said surveillance video of the attack was so twisted he couldn't finish watching it.
Kawam was sitting by herself, believed to be asleep, on a stopped F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn.
WOMAN BURNED TO DEATH IN HORRIFIC SUBWAY ATTACK IDENTIFIED
"As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at a news briefing. "The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds."
Then the man walked off the car to a nearby waiting bench, sat down, and watched as help arrived. Responding officers were already in the station, and a transit worker grabbed a fire extinguisher. The suspect even appeared on bodycam video, Tisch said.
The suspect was arrested after three teenagers riding another subway train recognized him from a wanted poster and called 911. He was taken into custody at the next stop.
Zapeta faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
The NYPD released its end-of-the-year crime statistics for 2024 Monday, touting an overall decrease in crime and an increase in arrests. However, homicides on the subway system doubled compared to 2023.
Zapeta is due back in court on March 12.
Fox News' Greg Wehner and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.