Man indicted in burning death of woman inside a New York City subway train, prosecutors say

NEW YORK — The man accused of burning a sleeping 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.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told reporters the indictment will be unsealed on Jan. 7 and 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.

“This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system,” Gonzalez said.

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.

An attorney representing Zapeta declined to comment.

Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who was motionless and thought to be asleep, 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. Police took Zapeta into custody while he was riding a train on the same line later that day.

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.

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.

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 attacks 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.

Adams, a Democrat, has directed police to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 's investigative team to explore criminal charges against Zapeta under the federal arson statute, according to a spokesperson for the mayor's office.

Gonzalez told reporters Friday that the charges brought by his office could result in a more severe penalty, with the possibility that Zapeta could be sentenced to life without parole.