Man suspected of setting a woman on fire on NYC subway was in U.S. illegally

NYC police charge man with murder of woman set on fire on subway

A man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in New York.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was charged with first and second degree murder as well as arson on Monday over the attack.

Image via social media 

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described Sunday’s incident as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.

She said the woman was on a stationary F train in Brooklyn when she was approached by a man who used a lighter to ignite her clothing – which became “fully engulfed in a matter of seconds”.

Although officers extinguished the flames, the victim died at the scene.Officers said the woman, who they have not named, was in a subway carriage at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station at about 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when the man approached her.