Man faces homicide cost in loss of life of girl set on fireplace on New York subway

A person faces homicide expenses in New York for allegedly setting a girl on fireplace on a subway practice after which watching her die after being engulfed in flames, police stated.

The suspect, recognized by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was taken into custody hours after the girl’s loss of life Sunday morning.

Zapeta, 33, is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the USA illegally after being deported in 2018, stated Jeff Carter, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It’s unclear when and the place he returned to the USA.

New York Metropolis Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the case as “some of the wicked crimes an individual can commit towards one other human being.”

She stated the girl and the suspect have been touring on a subway practice with none interplay with one another till they reached the tip of the road in Brooklyn round 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

After the practice stopped, surveillance video from the subway automobile confirmed the person “calmly” strategy the sufferer, who was sitting immobile, presumably sleeping, and set his physique on fireplace. garments with what gave the impression to be a lighter. The girl’s garments “have been then utterly swallowed up inside seconds”, Ms Tisch stated.

Police don’t consider the 2 males knew one another.

Officers conducting routine patrol on the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station smelled and noticed smoke and found the girl on fireplace, standing in the midst of the subway automobile. As soon as the hearth was extinguished, paramedics pronounced the girl lifeless on the scene.

The suspect remained on the scene and was sitting on a bench on the subway platform, simply exterior the practice automobile, Ms. Tisch stated. The physique cameras worn by the police allowed him to be seen “very clearly and intimately” and these pictures have been broadcast publicly.

After later receiving a 911 name from three highschool college students who stated they acknowledged the suspect within the photograph, officers arrested a “particular person of curiosity” who Tisch stated was carrying the identical grey hoodie, the identical wool hat, the identical paint-splattered pants and the identical. beige boots.

In a press release, Brooklyn District Legal professional Eric Gonzalez stated: “The depravity of this horrific crime is past comprehension, and my workplace is dedicated to bringing the perpetrator to justice. »

He added: “This horrific and mindless act of violence towards a weak girl will end in essentially the most critical penalties. »

New York Governor Kathy Hochul this yr despatched members of the New York Nationwide Guard to town’s subway system to assist police conduct random searches of individuals’s luggage for weapons. following a collection of high-profile crimes on town’s trains. Ms Hochul not too long ago deployed extra members to assist patrol over the Christmas interval.

A few yr in the past, Ms. Hochul supported funding the set up of video cameras on each New York subway automobile, stated Michael Kemper, chief safety officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He and different officers credited the cameras Sunday for serving to discover the suspect so rapidly.