By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
A man has pleaded not guilty to burning a sleeping woman to death inside a New York City subway train.
Stonix News reports that 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta, on Tuesday, appeared in Brooklyn court in an orange jumpsuit and orange jacket, his hands cuffed behind his back as he was arraigned on murder and arson charges in the killing of 57-year-old Debrina Kawam.
Prosecutors say Zapeta lit the New Jersey native on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on Dec. 22. Zapeta then fanned the flames with a shirt before sitting on platform bench and watching as Kawam burned, they allege.
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Prosecutors say Zapeta confirmed to police he was the man in surveillance photos and videos of the fire but said he drinks a lot of alcohol and did not recall what happened.
Zapeta, a Guatemalan citizen who authorities say entered the country illegally after being deported in 2018, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole on the murder charge.
The court hearing lasted under five minutes. Zapeta stood up, his eyes facing the floor, as a Spanish interpreter whispered into his ear. His next court date is set for March 12.
He was previously arraigned on a criminal complaint, but in New York, all felony cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless a defendant waives that requirement.
Prosecutors with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office announced Zapeta had been indicted in late December.
Zapeta’s lawyer didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Monday evening.
The killing has renewed discussion about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system even as crime in the subway remains relatively rare.
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