A man has pleaded not guilty to burning a sleeping woman to death inside a New York City subway train.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, appeared in Brooklyn court in an orange jumpsuit and orange jacket on Tuesday (early Wednesday AEDT), his hands cuffed behind his back as he was arraigned on murder and arson charges in the killing of Debrina Kawam, 57.
Prosecutors allege Zapeta lit the New Jersey native on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on December 22. Zapeta then fanned the flames with a shirt before sitting on platform bench and watching as Kawam burned, they allege.
Prosecutors say Zapeta confirmed to police he was the man in surveillance photos and videos of the fire but said he drinks a lot of alcohol and did not recall what happened.
Zapeta, a Guatemalan citizen who authorities say entered the country illegally after being deported in 2018, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole on the murder charge.
The court hearing lasted less than five minutes. Zapeta stood up, his eyes facing the floor, as a Spanish interpreter whispered into his ear. His next court date is set for March 12.
He was previously arraigned on a criminal complaint, but in New York, all felony cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless a defendant waives that requirement.
Prosecutors with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office announced Zapeta had been indicted in late December.
Zapeta’s lawyer didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on Monday evening (Tuesday AEDT).
The killing has renewed discussion about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system even as crime in the subway remains relatively rare.
Transit crime is down for the second straight year, with a 5.4 per cent drop last year compared to 2023, according to data released by police Monday, which also showed a 3 per cent overall drop in major crimes citywide.
Still, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a Monday news conference discussing the statistics that riders simply “don’t feel safe”.
In response, she said the department will surge more than 200 officers onto subway trains and deploy more officers onto subway platforms in the 50 highest-crime stations in the city.
“We know that 78 per cent of transit crime occurs on trains and on platforms, and that is quite obviously where our officers need to be,” Tisch said.
“This is just the beginning.”
