Suspect in burning New York woman to death entered country illegally after being deported

The Guatemalan immigrant accused of setting a woman on fire while she slept on the New York subway was deported in 2018 after illegally entering the United States through the Arizona border.

According to Marie Ferguson, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sebastin Zapeta, 33, was arrested on June 1, 2018 by the Border Patrol in Sonoita, Arizona, and deported days later during the Trump Administration.

Despite this, Zapeta again entered the country illegally and moved north, settling in New York. Although it is unclear how long he remained in the city prior to the attack, it is known that in April 2023 he was residing in a publicly funded hotel set up as a migrant shelter. Additional records reveal that Zapeta used the address of a shelter on Randall's Island when he received a traffic ticket that same year, confirming his link to the city's shelter system.

Ferguson added that once Zapeta is formally charged and his place of detention is determined, the Office of Detention and Removal Operations will issue an immigration warrant at the NYPD facility where he is in custody.

A heinous attack on the subway

The attack occurred last Sunday at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station. According to police, the suspect observed the victim, a sleeping female passenger, before allegedly dousing her with a flammable liquid and setting her on fire.

The victim was declared dead at the scene, but Brooklyn prosecutors are awaiting autopsy results to determine whether burns were the direct cause of her death, which would allow for murder charges to be filed.

Attorney Eric Gonzalez condemned the crime and promised justice in a statement. "The depravity of this horrific crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice," he stated. He also assured that his team will work to ensure that the case is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

However, the Kings County district attorney's office reported Monday that they do not yet have a definite timeline for filing charges and do not anticipate a court appearance later in the day.