Suspect Accused of Setting Fire to Woman on N.Y. Subway Indicted on Murder, Arson Charges

The man accused of setting fire to a woman and killing her on a subway train in Brooklyn has been indicted on murder and arson charges, the Brooklyn District Attorney announced Dec. 27.

A grand jury on Friday returned an indictment against Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, charging him with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson. The indictment remains under seal but will be read at Zapeta’s arraignment on Jan. 7, said Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez.

Zapeta is accused of lighting a still-unidentified woman aflame as she slept on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway terminal in Brooklyn, fanning the flames with a shirt and then sitting down and watching as she burned to death.

A conviction on first-degree murder charges could land Zapeta in prison for the rest of his life, said Gonzalez, who deemed Zapeta’s alleged actions “dastardly” and “malicious.”

“This was a malicious deed, a sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system,” Gonzalez said at a Friday press conference. “This act surprised many New Yorkers as they were getting ready to celebrate the holidays.”

The victim, believed to be homeless, remains unidentified. Her body was badly burned, making it tough to recover forensic evidence that could help give her an ID, said Gonzalez. The police and city medical examiner are using “advanced” fingerprinting and DNA analysis to attempt to give her a name — and bring closure to her family.

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“Our hearts go out to not only to this victim, but we know that there’s a family,” said Gonzalez. “Just because someone appears to have been living in the situation of homelessness does not mean that there’s not gonna be family devastated by the tragic way she lost her life.”

Investigators are also looking to retrace the woman’s journey on the subway in an attempt to find where she got on, as well as clear surveillance footage of her face. The F is one of the subway’s longest routes, running 27 miles from Coney Island all the way to Jamaica, Queens.

Zapeta, who is being held on Rikers Island, did not appear in court on Friday morning, but will appear on Jan. 7 when the indictment is unsealed.

He’s claimed that he doesn’t remember the incident at all and had been drinking heavily, NBC News reported.

Further charges could ultimately be brought against Zapeta, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, by the Justice Department, which N.Y.C. Mayor Eric Adams is pushing to bring federal arson charges.

Gonzalez said Friday he believes the case “belongs in state court” due to the severity of punishment Zapeta could face under a murder-1 conviction.

Zapeta’s attorneys with Brooklyn Defender Services did not immediately return a request for comment.