Migrant Accused Of Setting Subway Rider On Fire Indicted For Murder: Report

NEW YORK CITY — A man accused of killing a woman by setting her on fire aboard a Brooklyn subway train was indicted Friday on four counts of murder and one count of arson, according to a report citing prosecutors.

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, a Guatemalan citizen, was charged by police with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree arson following the Dec. 22 incident.

On Friday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Zapeta-Calil was indicted by a grand jury on one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson, NBC News reported.

The indictment will be unsealed in court on Jan. 7, when Zapeta-Calil is scheduled to be arraigned, according to NBC News.

Zapeta-Calil was taken into custody by police on Sunday following the incident on an F train subway car. According to police, the incident happened around 7:30 a.m. as the train pulled into the Stillwell Avenue station.

Police said Zapeta-Calil walked up to the victim, who was motionless and may have been asleep, and used a lighter to set her clothes on fire.

Officers on the station’s upper level smelled smoke and found the victim standing inside the subway car, fully engulfed in flames.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, Patch previously reported.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.”

Police said Zapeta-Calil stayed at the scene after lighting the fire, sitting on a nearby bench. Doing so allowed police body cameras to capture his image, which was shared widely, according to authorities.

Police said three teens later called 911 to say they had seen the man at the subway station at Jay and York streets. Responding officers found Zapeta-Calil on a moving train. After arresting him, they found a lighter in his pocket, police said.