What you need to know about the death of a woman set on fire on a train in New York

NEW YORK — The man accused of setting a woman on fire on a New York subway and lit the flames as she burned to death made her first court appearance this week, while authorities have yet to publicly identify the victim.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on murder and arson charges in a Brooklyn courthouse, where he was remanded in custody. He did not submit a plea and his lawyer did not speak to the reporters gathered in the courtroom. His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

Authorities say Zapeta, who federal immigration officials say is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, calmly approached the woman aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn early Sunday morning and set her clothes on fire .

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Sunday described the case as “one of the most depraved crimes that a person could commit against another human being.”

Here are the latest:

What do we know about the suspect?

Zapeta was taken into custody on Sunday, hours after police released images of a suspect in the woman’s death.

Police said three high school students called 911 after recognizing the person in the picture, and officers found him on another subway train wearing the same gray sweatshirt, woolly hat, paint-spattered pants and tan boots.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Jeff Carter said Zapeta is a Guatemalan national who entered the U.S. illegally after previously being deported to Guatemala in 2018. It’s unclear when or where he re-entered in the US, Carter said.

Zapeta was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday. He appeared before a judge in a white jumpsuit and did not speak.

Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg argued during Tuesday’s court hearing that Zapeta set the woman’s clothes on fire and started the flames using a shirt.

Rottenberg added that during questioning, Zapeta claimed he did not know what happened, noting that he had been drinking. But he claimed Zapeta identified himself to interrogators in the footage of the attack.

A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a service center for Samaritan Daytop Village, which offers housing and substance abuse support. The organization did not respond to a request for comment.

What do we know about the victim?

The victim had not been publicly identified as of Thursday, an NYPD spokesman confirmed. Police described her only as a woman.

Tisch said at a press conference Sunday that the victim was “in a seated position” at the end of the train car when it was set on fire. Joseph Gulotta, chief of the transit department, added that police do not believe the suspect and the victim knew each other and did not interact before or during the incident.

What kind of police presence is there on the subway?

The police patrol the New York subways and there is a vast network of cameras in the stations and in all the subway cars.

But the sheer size of the subway system — 472 stations with multiple entry points and millions of riders each day — makes policing logistically difficult.

On Sunday, officers were at the station but were patrolling a different platform. They responded after seeing and smelling smoke coming from the fire.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year ordered members of the state’s National Guard to assist with random bag checks at certain stations.

Is the crime in the subway?

Violent incidents on the subway and in the stations often put people on edge, in part because many New Yorkers take the train several times a day and often have their own experiences with awkward interactions in the system.

Broadly speaking, crime is down on the city’s transit system this year compared to the same period in 2023. data compiled by the Metropolitan Transport Authority shows a 6% drop in what the agency calls major offenses between January and November this year and 2023.

At the same time, crimes in the transit system are on the rise, with nine murders this year through November, compared to five in the same time frame last year.

High-profile train incidents often attract national attention and further upset passengers. Daniel PennyA military veteran who put an agitated subway rider in a choke hold was acquitted this month of manslaughter.

“When you have these incidents, it eclipses the success and plays on the psyche of New Yorkers,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview Monday with PIX 11, noting that many major incidents in the transit system involve people. with mental health problems.