Sebastian Zapeta, a Guatemalan accused of setting fire to a sleeping subway rider and watching her burn to death on Brooklyn Subway car, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and arson charges.
The 33-year-old is charged with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and arson.
Zapeta listened through an interpreter and did not speak during the 4-minute discussion. His attorney eventually said his client needed medical attention, but additional details were not immediately available.
According to authorities, Zapeta entered the US illegally in 2018. He was deported and returned to the country at an unknown time.
NYPD ARRESTS MIGRANT WHO ALLEGEDLY SET WOMAN ON FIRE ON SUBWAY TRAIN, WATCHED BURNING
Sebastian Zapeta is arraigned in court in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Zapeta is facing murder and arson charges for allegedly setting Debrina Kawam on fire while she was sleeping on a subway train in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
He headed to New York and allegedly set a woman on fire while she was sleeping on a subway bench on December 22.
Surveillance footage shows a man who allegedly set a woman on fire in the Brooklyn subway while she slept on December 22, 2024. (NYPD)
The victim has been identified as Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old from Toms River, New Jersey. She was so badly burned that it took more than a week to identify her remains.
Sebastian Zapeta is arraigned in court in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Zapeta is facing murder and arson charges for allegedly setting Debrina Kawam on fire while she was sleeping on a subway train in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
Mayor Eric Adams, Ex NYPD Captainhe said the surveillance video of the attack was so distorted he couldn’t watch it all the way through.
Kawam was sitting alone, believed to be asleep, on a stopped F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn.
IDENTIFIED WOMAN BURNED IN HORRIBLE ATTACK IN UNDERGROUND RAILWAY
Sebastian Zapeta is arraigned in court in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Zapeta is facing murder and arson charges for allegedly setting Debrina Kawam on fire while she was sleeping on a subway train in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
“As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly approached the victim,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at a press briefing. “The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which was fully engulfed within seconds.”
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire on a subway train in New York, appears in court Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis means via Poole)
Then the man walked from the car to a nearby waiting bench, sat down and watched as help arrived. Responding officers were already at the station and a transit worker grabbed a fire extinguisher. The suspect even appeared on dash cam video, Tisch said.
The suspect was arrested after three teenagers riding another subway train recognized him from a wanted poster and called 911. He was taken into custody at the next station.
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Police officers patrol the F train platform at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP)
Zepeta faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
The NYPD released year-end crime statistics for 2024 on Monday, praising the overall decline in crime and an increase in arrests. However, the number of subway murders has doubled since 2023.
Zapeta is scheduled to return to court on March 12.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
