By Jonathan Allen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The person accused of killing a girl sleeping on a New York Metropolis subway automobile by setting her on fireplace pleaded not responsible to prices of homicide and arson at a courtroom listening to on Tuesday.
A grand jury has indicted Sebastian Zapeta, 33, of 1 rely of first-degree homicide, three counts of second-degree homicide and one rely of first-degree arson within the first diploma for the killing of Debrina Kawam, 57.
Crime stays comparatively uncommon on town’s subway, one of many oldest and largest transit programs on the earth, however the New York Police Division acknowledged this week that assaults like Kawam’s violent killing can terrify New Yorkers.
Many have been horrified by a short video of Kawam engulfed in flames close to the open doorways of a practice automobile, recorded by a horrified bystander on the platform.
In response to the police account, Zapeta used a lighter to ignite the garments of Kawam, who gave the impression to be sleeping on a seat in a stationary F practice automobile on the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station at about 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 22.
He then used a shirt to fan the fireplace, the police criticism stated.
Kawam was pronounced useless on the scene after the fireplace was extinguished. The town’s medical expert stated the reason for loss of life was smoke inhalation and thermal accidents. It took greater than per week to establish her utilizing fingerprint evaluation.
Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen, federal officers have stated, who has been residing in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, in response to the New York Police Division.
He was arraigned within the Kings Supreme Courtroom in Brooklyn in short listening to earlier than Decide Danny Chun on Tuesday morning, showing in orange jail garments together with his arms cuffed behind his again and a Spanish interpreter at his aspect.
Kawam was from Toms River, a coastal city in New Jersey, and, like Zapeta, had additionally frolicked within the metropolis’s homeless shelter system, in response to Mayor Eric Adams.
About 4 million journeys are taken every weekday on town’s subway, the place severe crime, predominantly thefts, declined for a second yr in a row in 2024, down 5.4% from the earlier yr, the New York Police Division stated.
Killings have elevated, nonetheless. As of November, there had been 9 homicides reported on the subway in 2024, in comparison with 5 in the identical interval in 2023, in response to police information.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated on Monday she was sending extra officers to patrol the system in response to Kawam’s killing and different “terrifying random acts of violence.”
“Declining crime numbers are important, however we nonetheless should do extra, as a result of folks do not feel secure in our subways,” Tisch stated.
If convicted on any of the fees, Zapeta faces a most sentence of life in jail with out the potential for parole. The U.S. Division of Homeland Safety has stated that Zapeta had entered the nation unlawfully, and would finally search to deport him.
