An illegal migrant accused of burning a woman alive while she slept on a New York City subway car pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing on Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta, a previously-deported 33-year-old  Guatemalan living unlawfully in the United States, entered his not guilty plea after appearing before a Brooklyn courtroom, according to The Associated Press. He is charged with multiple counts of murder and one count of arson for the death of 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, a homeless New Jersey woman who burned alive while sleeping on the F-train on the morning of Dec. 21.
Zapeta’s plea is the latest development in what local authorities have described as “one of the most depraved crimes” a human being could commit.
New York investigators believe Kawam was asleep on the train when Zapeta approached her and used a match to light her clothes on fire. He then allegedly fanned the flames intentionally by waving a shirt over her, and then sat on a nearby bench and watched her succumb to her injuries.
“As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim who was in a seated position at the end of the subway car,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated during a press conference on the day of the killing. “The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.”
New York City law enforcement went to investigate after they smelled and saw smoke and upon their arrival to the scene, cops discovered the victim standing in the train fully engulfed in fire, and made attempts to put the fire out, according to Tisch. Zapeta was apprehended by the New York Police Department later that day after witnesses had spotted him, and he was caught with a lighter in his pocket.
The gruesome killing appears to be a random act of violence. While identifying himself in photos related to the killing, the Guatemalan national said he consumes a lot of liquor and has no memory of the incident.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation in December that Zapeta is an illegal migrant who had already been deported from the United States years prior.
“U.S. Border Patrol in Sonoita, Arizona, encountered Zapeta June 1, 2018, and served him with an order of expedited removal and Enforcement and Removal Operations removed Zapeta from the U.S. to Guatemala June 7, 2018,” the agency spokesperson stated. “Zapeta unlawfully reentered the United States on an unknown date and location.”
The murder has again sparked outcry over the sanctuary laws in New York City, which has been plagued with an ongoing migrant crisis for the past several years. Democrat Mayor Eric Adams, who has grown increasingly frustrated with the city’s sanctuary policies, recently met with incoming border czar Tom Homan and hinted at better cooperation with ICE officials moving forward.
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