THE man accused of setting a woman on fire and watching her burn to d3@th on the New York City subway has been slapped with m::ur:der and arson charges as the victim’s identity remains unknown.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a Guatemalan migrant who entered the US illegally, appeared stone-faced during his arraignment on Tuesday, his first court appearance since he was charged with first-degree mu:rd:er and arson in the random att@ck.
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Sebastian Zapeta-Calil appeared in court in New York City on December 24Credit: AP:Associated Press
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Video showed the moment cops swarmed the subway to arrest Zapeta-CalilCredit: Instagram
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Zapeta-Calil being escorted by police on Monday in New York CityCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Footage from the scene on Sunday morning showed the alleged k!ller watching the woman burn to d3@th inside the F train after he set her on fireCredit: X
Sickening footage appears to show Zapeta-Calil, 33, watching flames engulf the woman’s body as he sits on a bench on the subway platform.
Another video showed the alleged k!ller walking close to the disturbing scene and fanning the blaze as it surrounded the helpless woman.
The horrifying att@ck happened on an F train in Brooklyn on Sunday morning.
The woman’s body was so badly burned that it was making an autopsy more challenging, the New York Police Department said.
The medical examiner’s office ruled her d3@th a homicide by smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.
Officials said the victim’s teeth will likely be needed to identify her, according to The CW affiliate WPIX.
Hours after the horrific att@ck, NYPD swarmed a jam-packed subway car and arrested Zapeta-Calil in a chaotic scene.
Zapeta-Calil is believed to have been deported from the US after being arrested at the Mexican border in Arizona on June 1, 2018.
He was kicked out of the country but re-entered illegally at some point and was living at a men’s shelter in the city at the time of the crime.
In an interview with police, Zapeta-Calil said he was drunk and “doesn’t know what happened,” prosecutors said at Zapeta-Calil’s arraignment on Tuesday.
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‘BUGGED OUT’
Zapeta-Calil was reportedly a heavy drinker who often smoked K2, an illegal synthetic cannabinoid, his friends at the shelter said, according to the New York Post.
The suspect woke up on Sunday morning and ate breakfast at the men’s shelter with his roommates before going out for his “normal run,” Raymond Robinson, who slept next to Zapeta-Calil at the shelter, told the outlet.
“He smoked K2, drank and bugged out,” Robinson said.
“He would bug out and talk to himself when he was high, but he never harmed nobody or himself. When he wasn’t high he’d talk like we’re talking regular.”
Robin said Zapeta-Calil reportedly smoked about $30 worth of K2 every day.
‘TONE DEAF’ KATHY HOCHUL
It comes after New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, was slammed as “tone deaf” for a post showing her smiling on the subway and bragging about how it had become safer under her watch.
The governor posted a smiling selfie on the train on Sunday, saying crime has decreased in New York City after she deployed the National Guard to subway stations earlier this year.
“In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day,” Hochul wrote in the post, which was shared on X and Instagram.
She added, “Crime is going down, and ridership is going up.”
Social media users were quick to blast her for sharing the claims just eight hours after news of the subway rider’s d3@th was reported.
Fellow lawmakers slammed Hochul for the post, including New York Democratic Representative Richie Torres, who also referenced another brutal crime from the weekend.
“Two hours ago, Kathy Hochul took a victory lap for making subways ‘safer,'” Torres wrote on X.
“She congratulates herself on the same day two subway riders were stabbed in Queens (one in the face and one in the chest) and another was barbarically burned alive.
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Zapeta-Calil is an undocumented migrant from Guatemala who had previously been deported from the USCredit: Getty
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Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is accused of torching a woman on the New York subwayCredit: Reuters
“Has there ever been a more tone-deaf Governor in the history of New York?”
Melissa DeRosa, who served as secretary under former governor Andrew Cuomo, slammed Hochul as ignorant.
“[Two] people were m::urd:ered in the subway today,” DeRosa wrote.
“The governor of the state of ny is a tourist who can’t even bother to read a newspaper while she’s in town.”
In the comments of Hochul’s post, social media users replied with graphic footage of the immolation.
‘YOU MAKE ME SICK’
Others said the timing of the post was out of touch while crime persists on the subway.
“A woman was set on fire today and k!lled. But go on with your photo-op. You make me sick,” one Instagram user slammed.
Make no mistake: any crime is one too many, even with subway crime going down.”
Kathy Hochul
“An innocent woman was set on fire and m:u:rdered on the train this morning. And a man k!lled someone who tried to rob him on the train last night: I wouldn’t describe the subways as being safe but that’s just me,” another commented.
“Wasn’t a women set on fire today as well? You have the nerve to say it’s safe,” another wrote.
“Sorry Kathy your private subway car closed off by your security detail doesn’t count.”
Others called for the governor’s resignation.
“You need to resign. This job is not for you,” one slammed.
“Please resign and leave New York and never go back into politics,” a second advised.
Hochul took office in August 2021 as the first female governor of New York.
HOCHUL’S RESPONSE
Two hours after her puffed-up post, Hochul somberly acknowledged that the New York Police Department arrested someone for Sunday’s disturbing m:u:rder.
“A suspect is now in custody for the horrific incident on the F train,” Hochul wrote.
“Our brand-new security cameras helped law enforcement find the suspect and arrest him,” Hochul said, once again pointing to her efforts to increase subway safety.
“Make no mistake: any crime is one too many, even with subway crime going down. We are continuing to surge personnel and resources to make our subways safer.”
Hochul’s office hasn’t responded to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
ABOUT THE SUSPECT
Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil was arrested in connection to the crime.
Cops said the alleged suspect threw a lighter on the woman, who hasn’t been identified, and watched as she quickly went up in flames.
NYPD said on Monday that the suspect and his alleged victim had no interaction before the crime.
The pair reportedly didn’t know each other, officials said.
Zapeta-Calil snuck past US authorities and stayed in migrant shelters in New York City until allegedly k!lling the woman on the F train.
The suspect was reportedly issued a transit ticket in 2023 but has no other previous criminal history.
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The scene where the woman was lit on fire on Sunday morningCredit: Getty
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Governor Kathy Hochul smiling with subway riders in her ‘self-congratulatory’ postCredit: Instagram/govkathyhochul
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Hochul speaking about increasing subway safetyCredit: Instagram/govkathyhochul
