Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway train, will face a judge. Authorities are seeking federal charges against Zapeta, who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally. The victim remains unidentified.
NEW YORK - The man accused of setting a woman on fire aboard a Brooklyn subway train is due back in court Friday. Investigators say the unidentified victim was sleeping when Sebastian Zapeta , 33, used a lighter to set her clothes on fire. According to the criminal complaint, Zapeta used a shirt to fan the flames. Zapeta faces first- and second-degree murder and arson charges. Mayor Eric Adams' office, however, is pushing for federal charges to be added against Zapeta.
'Lighting another human being on fire and watching them burn alive reflects a level of evil that cannot be tolerated,' Adams' office said in a statement. Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who federal officials say entered the U.S. illegally, was deported, and then returned to the U.S. illegally. Unidentified victim honored at vigil Authorities still have not identified the woman who was killed. Thursday, community leaders gathered on the F train platform at the Stillwell station in Coney Island to pray for her. They called her death a systemic failure. 'Her life mattered. Thank God they caught the person that did this. But it's not just the person's fault. It's the system's fault. The system failed,' Rev. Kevin McCall said. 'Homeless lives matter. She was burned up so bad the police could not even identify who she is.
Subway Arson Sebastian Zapeta Brooklyn Murder Arson
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