A Brooklyn grand jury voted last week to upgrade the charges against Sebastian Zapeta, who is accused of setting fire to subway passengers, to first-degree murder, and the suspect of 33 years faces life in prison without parole if convicted. will be punished.
“This is the most significant statute in New York state law, and my office is extremely confident in the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zapeta accountable,” he said after the hearing in Brooklyn Criminal Court. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told reporters. on friday.
“This was a malicious act, directed against a vulnerable woman sleeping on the subway. This was intentional and we are working to prove this in court.” Gonzalez added.
Five days after an unidentified homeless woman was burned to death by a passenger on a New York City subway train, city officials have not been able to confirm her identity.
Investigators may have to rely on dental records or DNA analysis to determine the victim’s identity.
“It just adds another level to the tragedy,” Dave Giffen, director of the Homeless Coalition, told the New York Times. “At this point, we don’t even know who she is yet, and we can’t memorialize her.”
Giffen said the incident highlighted a widespread lack of interaction and empathy for the city’s homeless population. “We cannot forget our humanity as a city,” he told the outlet. “The fact that no one knows who this woman is is the saddest story I can imagine during the holidays.”
Last Sunday’s early morning attack on the Brooklyn F train has horrified the city, and many are wondering why no one went to help, including police at the scene who didn’t appear to help the burning victim. Questions are being raised, including by government officials.
However, police defended their actions. Police Department Traffic Director Joseph Gulotta praised the officers who stayed at the scene and “kept the crime scene as it should be and kept an eye on what was going on.” .
“I think he did his job perfectly,” Gulotta added. “My fellow officers called in MTA personnel, obtained a fire extinguisher, and were ultimately able to extinguish the individual.”
A small vigil was held for the woman Thursday at the Stilwell Avenue station in Coney Island, Brooklyn, where the incident occurred. Civil rights leader Reverend Kevin McCall said the woman “didn’t have to die” and called on New Yorkers who saw injustice to “do something.”
Zapeta was quickly arrested on charges of murder and arson in connection with the woman’s death. He is currently facing charges.
Brooklyn District Attorney Gonzalez told reporters the indictment will be unsealed on January 7. He added that the highest charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Federal immigration authorities say Zapeta, a Guatemalan national who illegally reentered the United States after being deported in 2018, was seen on video approaching a woman on a stopped train and setting her clothes on fire. The authorities claim that there are.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the incident “one of the most despicable crimes one human being can commit against another human being.”
Zapeta was identified by three high school students after they recognized him from a police photo. He was arrested by police at a subway station in midtown Manhattan, where he was suspected of having the same lighter used in the attack in his pocket.
Prosecutors allege Zapeta set the woman’s clothes on fire and used her shirt to fan the flames. Zapeta then sat on a bench on the platform and watched her burn, prosecutors allege.
The suspect told authorities he didn’t know what happened. According to investigators, the assailant, who died at the scene, and the victim did not know each other and did not appear to have interacted with each other before or during the incident.
Zapeta’s address, released by police after his arrest, matches a shelter in Brooklyn that provides housing and substance abuse support.
