The illegal migrant accused of setting a woman on fire inside a Brooklyn subway train has been indicted on five charges of murder and arson.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder as well as one count of first-degree arson, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office announced on Friday.
Zapeta-Calil, who has been held without bail since his arrest after the horrific incident, waived his right to appear in court on Friday.
He is scheduled to be arraigned January 7.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez emphasized his confidence in the case an in holding Zapeta-Calil accountable for his ‘dastardly deeds’.
‘These are significant counts,’ Gonzalez told reporters Friday.
‘Murder in the first degree carries the possibility of life without parole. It’s the most serious statute in New York state law and my office is very confident about the evidence in the case and to hold Zapeta accountable for his dastardly deeds.’
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder as well as one count of first-degree arson, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office announced on Friday
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is shown sitting on a subway bench watching as the woman he set fire to burns alive. In front of him is an NYPD officer who walked past him, unaware he was allegedly responsible for the sickening crime
Zapeta-Calil is accused of lighting the woman on fire at around 7:29am on Sunday.
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‘This was intentional, and we move to prove this in the court of law,’ Gonzalez added.
Police say the victim was sleeping when Zapeta-Calil, who was sitting across from her onboard an F train at a station in Coney Island, got up, walked over and lit her on fire.
‘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,’ Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday night.
Officers arrived at the scene after receiving a call of a woman needing assistance, but the woman was already on fire, authorities said in a statement.
The woman who was burned alive on a New York City subway last week is yet to be identified, most likely because of how badly charred her remains were, according to a law enforcement official. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil (pictured) has been charged with murder and arson
Zapeta-Calil, who has been held without bail since his arrest after the horrific incident, waived his right to appear in court on Friday. Pictured: NYPD 60th Precinct detectives walk accused fire bug Zapeta-Calil out of the building
Zapeta-Calil was then caught on camera at the station sitting on a bench and watching as the woman was engulfed in flames.
Cops briefly talked to him and told him to clear the area in the immediate aftermath.
They put out the fire with the help of an MTA employee, before the woman died from her injuries at around 7:30am.
Officers were later seen using a tarp to cover up one of the train’s windows – seemingly to block a view of the grisly scene.
Then at around 1pm, police were seen carrying a body bag out of the train and placing it on a gurney, before transporting it to a Medical Examiner’s van.
‘On Sunday… at approximately 0729 hours, an unidentified female victim was sleeping aboard a stationary ‘F’ train at the Stillwell Avenue Subway station when an unknown male individual approached and lit the victim on fire,’ police later said in a statement.
‘The individual then left the subway car. The victim was pronounced deceased by EMS at the scene.’
Police added that the woman was found with a litany of liquor bottles – though law enforcement sources who spoke to The New York Post said investigators remain stumped as to whether that played a part in the fire.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez emphasized his confidence in the case an in holding Zapeta-Calil accountable for his ‘dastardly deeds’ Pictured: Sebastian Zapeta arraigned in Brooklyn Suprreme Court after he was arrested
No other information was readily available about the female victim, and the suspect’s motive – if any – still remains unclear.
‘Our hearts go out not only to this victim, but we know that there’s a family just because someone appears to have been living in this situation of homelessness does not mean that there’s not going to be family devastated by the tragic way she lost her life,’ Gonzalez added.
‘Just because someone appears to have been living in this situation of homelessness does not mean that there’s not going to be family devastated by the tragic way she lost her life,’ Gonzalez said.
Chilling footage showed the moment a man in a hoodie sat on the platform at Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island and watched as the woman became engulfed by flames.
Anonymous sources have told the New York Post that Zapeta-Calil was in the country illegally after previously being deported at the Arizona border in June 2018. It’s unclear how he got back into the US.