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

NEW YORK (AP) — 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, prosecutors announced Friday, as authorities continue working to identify the victim.

Sebastian Zapeta is accused by prosecutors of lighting the woman on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station Sunday morning, then fanning the flames with a shirt, causing her to become engulfed in the blaze, before sitting on platform bench and watching as she burned.

“This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said after a brief court hearing where the indictment was announced.

He said 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. The indictment will be unsealed on Jan. 7.

Zapeta, 33, was not present at the hearing, and his attorney declined to comment afterwards.

Zapeta, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, was taken into custody later Sunday. During questioning by police, prosecutors say he claimed not to know what had happened, noting that he consumes alcohol, but identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.

He was initially charged in a criminal complaint with murder and arson earlier this week. 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.

Gonzalez told reporters 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.

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