Man accused of fatally burning woman on subway is due in court

(NEW YORK) — The man charged with setting a woman on fire and killing her as she slept on a New York City subway car is due in court on Friday.

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, made his first court appearance on Tuesday and was held without bail. He has not entered a plea.

Zapeta-Calil was arrested on Monday and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree arson.

Around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, the unidentified victim was asleep on a stationary F train in Brooklyn when a man approached her and lit her clothes on fire with a lighter, police said.

Authorities do not believe the two knew each other and did not have a previous interaction, police said.

The suspect left the subway car after the incident, but images of him were captured on officers’ body cameras because the suspect stayed at the scene, sitting on a nearby bench, according to police. Those images were released as police requested the public’s assistance in identifying the man.

Three high school students recognized him and contacted police, authorities said.

Zapeta-Calil was taken into custody in a subway car at Manhattan’s Herald Square on Sunday evening. Police said he was found with a lighter in his pocket.

Zapeta-Calil, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He told authorities he does not know what happened, but he identified himself in the surveillance images.