A man faces first-degree murder charges after allegedly setting fire to a sleeping woman on the New York City subway.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was charged Monday with first- and second-degree murder and arson following the shocking incident on a F train in Coney Island, Brooklyn, over the weekend, according to police.
Zapeta, who sources said could be arraigned Monday evening, was arrested the day of the subway fire after police said three teenagers recognized him from photos released by the NYPD.
Police said body camera footage and cameras inside subway cars captured him sitting on the platform, watching the woman burn to death.
Zapeta is in New York illegally, according to immigration officials. He returned to the United States after being deported to Guatemala in 2018, according to reports.
Woman set on fire on subway in Brooklyn
According to investigators, Zapeta did not know the woman who was set on fire and had no interaction with her prior to the attack.
Police said the unidentified woman was asleep on a F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station when it caught fire around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday.
“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,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday evening.
Officers at the station detected smoke and discovered her standing engulfed in flames inside the subway car. They grabbed a fire extinguisher with the assistance of a transit worker, but the woman died on the scene, according to reports.
“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car, and the body worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer,” Tisch pointed out. ”
Three high school-aged New Yorkers called 911 to report that they recognized the suspect.” They saw something, said something, and then did something.
After receiving the tip, detectives said they arrested Zapeta at the 34th Street-Herald Square station a few hours later. He was dressed similarly to the person Tisch described and carried a lighter in his pocket, according to officials.
U.S. immigration officials sent suspect back to Guatemala in 2018
Zapeta was handcuffed as officers led him out of the 60th Precinct in Brooklyn on Monday. According to police, he lives at a men’s shelter in East New York. The shelter did not immediately return CBS News New York’s request for comment.
According to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Zapeta is a “unlawfully present Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States without admission by an immigration official” in 2018 and returned to Guatemala less than a week later.
ICE officials said they don’t know when or where Zapeta reentered the country, and the agency plans to file an immigration detainer against him with the NYPD.
“The depravity of this heinous crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is determined to bring the perpetrator to justice. “This heinous and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will result in the most serious consequences,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
“Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe on our subways, and we will do everything in our power to ensure accountability in this case.”