Woman set on fire in the New York subway: Who was she?

NEW YORK – Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, the man accused of setting a woman on fire inside a Brooklyn subway train on Sunday, has been charged with multiple counts of murder and arson.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is expected to announce the formal indictment against Zapeta-Calil at 10 a.m.

There are also questions about whether Zapeta-Calil could be deported. A spokesman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he entered the country illegally.

Meanwhile, a vigil was held on Thursday for the woman who burned to death. Her identity remains unknown.

Sources of order telon FOX 5 NY that DNA test has been performed, but the victim has not yet been identified. Authorities only know he was homeless.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

FOX 5 NY will stream the press conference live in the live player above.

Who is Sebastian Zapeta-Calil?

Zapeta-Calil was arrested by the Border Police on June 1, 2018, after crossed illegally into Sonoita, Arizona. He was deported by the Trump administration just days later on June 7, ICE spokeswoman Marie Ferguson told FOX News.

“Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, is an illegally present Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States without admission by an immigration official,” said a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the USA.

Ferguson added that Zapeta then illegally re-entered the US “at an unknown date and location.”

Chronology of events: What happened to the woman set on fire in the New York subway?

According to police, the victim as well as the suspect were both riding the F train just before 7:30 a.m. to the Stillwell Avenue subway station in Coney Island on Sunday, December 22.

Police said the two did not know each other.

“With the help of an MTA employee and a fire extinguisher, the flames were extinguished. Unfortunately, it was too late.” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

When the train stopped at the end of the line, police said the suspect calmly approached the seated woman and set her on fire with his lighter. The woman’s clothing “was then completely engulfed within seconds,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday.

“Officers patrolling an upper level of that station smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. What they saw was a person sitting inside the car completely engulfed in flames,” Tisch said.

The woman, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Transit police detained the suspect after receiving a report from three high school students who recognized him. They had seen footage of the man taken from surveillance and body camera footage and widely distributed by police.

Unbeknownst to the officers, the suspect remained at the scene and sat on a bench on the subway platform, right next to the train car, Tisch said. Officer-worn body cameras captured “a very clear and detailed view” of the suspect, and that footage was released publicly.

After later receiving a 911 call from the teenagers, other transit officers located the suspect on another subway train and radioed to the next station, where several officers held the train doors closed, they searched every train car and eventually caught him without incident, the department head said. Transit Joseph Gulotta. The suspect had a lighter in his pocket when he was taken into custody, Tisch said.

The police identified the suspect as 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta-Calil. He was charged with murder, among other charges.

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