A man accused of burning a sleeping woman to death on a New York City subway train has been charged with murder and arson, prosecutors announced Friday, as authorities continue to work to identify the victim.
Prosecutors accused Sebastian Zabieta of setting the woman on fire on an F train parked at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on Sunday morning, then fanning the flames with a T-shirt, causing her to become engulfed in the blaze, before sitting on a platform seat and watching as she burned.
“This was a malicious act. A sleeping, vulnerable woman in our subway system,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said after a brief court hearing where the indictment was announced.
He said Zabeta is charged with several counts of murder in addition to arson. The first count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole. The indictment will be revealed on January 7.
Zabeta (33 years old) was not present at the hearing, and his lawyer refused to comment afterward.
Zabeta, who federal immigration officials said was a Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States illegally, was taken into custody later Sunday. During his questioning by police, prosecutors said he claimed not to know what happened, noting that he had been drinking alcohol, but identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being set.
He was initially charged in a criminal complaint with murder and arson earlier this week. Such depositions are often a first step in the criminal process, because in New York, all criminal cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless the defendant waives that requirement.
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Police and medical examiners are working to identify the woman using fingerprints and advanced DNA techniques, while also tracing her steps before the killing, Gonzalez told reporters.
“Not only do our hearts go out to this victim, we know there is a family out there,” Gonzalez said. “Just because someone appears to have been experiencing homelessness, doesn’t mean there won’t be a family devastated by the tragic way they lost their life.”
The Brooklyn address for Zabieta released by police after his arrest matched a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. Federal immigration officials said he was deported in 2018 but returned to the United States illegally sometime afterward.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has ordered police to work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigative team to explore criminal charges against Zabetta under federal arson law, a spokesman for the New York City Mayor’s Office said this week.
Gonzalez said Friday that the charges brought by his office could result in a harsher sentence.
“I have great confidence in the people of Brooklyn and the people who come and serve on the jury here, and I believe that this crime occurred in New York City, in Brooklyn, and that the people of this district should serve there.” “The jury is out there,” Gonzalez said.
This horrific incident has renewed debate about safety in the country’s largest mass transit system.
In general, crime on the subway is relatively rare, with trains and platforms generally as safe as any other public place in New York City. Police data shows major crimes fell this year until November, compared to the same period in 2023.
But homicides have risen, with nine homicides through November compared to five during the same time frame last year. This number does not include the woman who was burned to death, nor the man who was stabbed to death in a Queens subway station on the same day.
High-profile attacks such as stabbings and shoving also put many commuters on edge in a city where millions ride the rails every day.
“When these incidents happen, they overshadow success and affect the psyche of New Yorkers,” Adams said in a televised interview earlier this week, noting that many of the high-profile incidents involve people with mental health issues.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
