Man indicted on murder charge after sleeping woman burned to death on subway
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The man accused of burning a woman to death on a New York subway train has been indicted on murder and arson charges. Sebastian Zapeta is accused of setting a sleeping woman on fire and then fanning the flames with a shirt, which caused her to be engulfed by the blaze.
He allegedly sat on a platform at Brooklyn's Coney Island station, opposite the stopped train, and watched as she burned to death. Authorities are still working to identify the victim. Zapeta, 33, has been charged with one count of first degree murder, two counts of second degree murder and one count of arson in the first degree.
After a brief hearing in which the indictment was announced, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said: "This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system.". Mr Gonzalez said police and medical examiners are using fingerprints and advanced DNA techniques to identify the victim, while also retracing her steps before the murder.
"Our hearts go out not only to this victim, but we know that there's a family," he 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.".
Follow our channel and never miss an update. Zapeta was initially charged with murder and arson in a criminal complaint earlier this week. Such filings are often a first step in the criminal process because all felony cases in New York require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial, unless a defendant waives that requirement.
