(NEW YORK) — The Brooklyn district attorney said he’s confident in the first-degree murder case against a man accused of setting a woman on fire and killing her as she slept on a New York City subway car.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, waived his appearance in court Friday and will return to court on Jan. 7, when the indictment will be unsealed at his arraignment, prosecutors said.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told reporters on Friday that he will do everything in his power to hold Zapeta responsible for his “malicious deed.” Gonzalez also thanked the grand jury for watching the disturbing images ahead of the holidays.
Zapeta was arrested on Monday in connection with the Sunday morning subway attack and was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree arson.
He made his first court appearance on Tuesday and was held without bail. He has not entered a plea.
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 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 is 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.
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