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Sebastian Zapeta-Calil ID’d as illegal migrant accused of setting woman on fire riding NYC subway, hit with murder and arson charges

sebastian-zapeta-calil-id’d-as-illegal-migrant-accused-of-setting-woman-on-fire-riding-nyc-subway,-hit-with-murder-and-arson-charges
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil ID’d as illegal migrant accused of setting woman on fire riding NYC subway, hit with murder and arson charges

The illegal Guatemalan migrant accused of torching a sleeping woman on a Brooklyn subway train was hit with murder and arson charges Monday — as the feds identified him as Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, who snuck back into the US after being deported.

Police arresting the man accused of lighting a woman on fire on the F train in Brooklyn on Dec. 22, 2024.

Police busted the man accused of lighting a woman on fire on the F train in Brooklyn on Dec. 22, 2024. G.N.Miller/NYPost

Police charged Zapeta-Calil, 33, with first- and second-degree murder, and arson after he was picked up Sunday in the gruesome slaying, law enforcement sources told The Post. 

Authorities had been awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine what charges would be lodged — but the process is complicated by the condition of the victim’s body, which was badly scorched in the incident, sources said.

Subway surveillance images show the suspect.

Subway surveillance images show the suspect.

Follow the latest on the migrant accused of burning a woman to death on the subway:


The Brooklyn DA’s office is now expected to also file charges.

According to Marie Ferguson, a spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency is expected to lodge a detainer on Zapeta-Calil while he is held in the Big Apple.

Surveillance footage of the suspect watching the woman burn to death on the train.

Surveillance footage of the suspect watching the woman burn to death on the train. Obtained by the Post

The Post confirmed the suspect is a migrant from Guatemala who is in the US illegally.

The Post confirmed the suspect is a migrant from Guatemala who is in the US illegally. DCPI

Ferguson said Zapeta-Calil was nabbed at the border in Arizona on June 1, 2018, and deported a week later — but re-entered the country illegally at some point.

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