The man accused of setting fire to a woman on board a Brooklyn train on Sunday morning remains in police custody and was hit with first- and second-degree murder charges Monday.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, who was being detained at the 60th Precinct. Detectives escorted him from the Coney Island stationhouse on Dec. 23; wearing a Tyvek suit, Zapeta-Calil said nothing to reporters waiting outside while keeping his head down as he was loaded into a police car en route to Kings County Criminal Court for arraignment.
Zapeta-Calil — whom representatives of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said allegedly entered the U.S. illegally five years ago, was deported and somehow returned at an unknown time — allegedly walked up to a sleeping woman on board an F train at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island stop on the morning of Dec. 22 and set her clothing on fire with a lighter.
Video of the incident went viral and showed the woman standing on the train while engulfed in flames. Quick-acting officers and staff worked to extinguish the blaze, but the woman, whose identity is still unknown, died.
Police officers cuffed Zapeta-Calil on Sunday afternoon in Herald Square after being spotted by a group of teens who recognized his image, which had been circulated from the scene.
When taken into custody, sources familiar with the case told amNewYork Metro, Zapeta-Calil was found to possess an ID from a Queens shelter. However, police noted his residence as being 338 Forbell St. in Brooklyn, which is listed as the Samaritan Daytop Village Forbell — an outpatient drug and alcohol rehab center.
Meanwhile, cops confirmed that Zapeta-Calil is an immigrant who illegally arrived in the U.S. from Guatemala. According to ICE, authorities removed him from the United States on June 7, 2018, back to Guatemala, yet they say he then reentered America at a later date where he then, at some point, made his way to New York.
Police confirmed that both the victim and the suspect did not know one another, and the attack was completely unprovoked. Sources also state that the suspect only has one prior arrest in Arizona, which is believed to have been connected with his alleged illegal entry into America.
Over 24 hours after the sickening incident shocked the city, NYPD detectives are still working to identify the female victim — whose remains were so severely burned as to be unrecognizable.
