Illegal Immigrant Arrested For Setting Woman On Fire In New York

A woman was burned alive after an illegal immigrant set her on fire. This is a sad and disturbing story. The deadly incident happened recently on the F train in New York City.

The unidentified woman was asleep on the F train surrounded by liquor bottles, according to witnesses. Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, set the woman on fire around 7:30 am on Sunday, December 22, 2024, while the train was in Coney Island, Brooklyn. According to police, Zapeta used a lighter to ignite the woman, who he did not know or have any interaction with. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene after quickly being engulfed in flames. Police witnessed the woman on fire, standing on the train, and extinguished the flames, but it was too late.

READ MORE: Worst Place To Live In New York

Initially, Zapeta was not identified, but police captured him on their body cameras while attending to the crime scene. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CBS News that he remained on the scene,

"Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car, and the body worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear, detailed look at the killer. Three high school age New Yorkers called 911 to say that they recognize the suspect. They saw something and they said something, and they did something."

Credit: NBC News ABC7NY via Youtube

READ MORE: Police In New York Are Looking For 16 Fugitives

Officers with the NYPD located Zapeta at the 34th Street-Herald Square station, where he was arrested. He wore the same clothes as the suspect and possessed a lighter. On Monday, December 23, Zapeta was charged with murder and arson. Zapeta, who reportedly lives at a men's shelter in East New York, was sent back to Guatemala in 2018. Authorities do not know when he re-entered the United States.

Get our free mobile app