NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train used a shirt to fan the flames, a prosecutor said Tuesday at his arraignment on murder charges.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, was not required to enter a plea and did not speak at the hearing in Brooklyn criminal court.
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Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Sebastian Zapeta, 2nd left, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
A suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (WABC-TV via AP)
Zapeta, wearing a white jumpsuit over a weathered black hooded sweatshirt, will remain jailed at the city's Rikers Island complex and is due back in court on Friday. His lawyer did not ask for bail.
Zapeta is charged with two counts of murder, accusing him of intentionally killing the woman and killing her while committing arson. He is also charged with one count of arson. The top charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the attack a “gruesome and senseless act of violence” and said it would be “met with the most serious consequences.”
The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on an F train that was stopped at the Coney Island station. The victim's identification is still pending.
Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who may have been sleeping in the train, and set her clothing on fire with a lighter.
Zapeta then fanned the flames with a shirt, engulfing her in fire, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said in court Tuesday.
Zapeta then sat on a bench on the subway platform and watched, Rottenberg said.
According to Rottenberg, Zapeta told detectives that he didn’t know what happened but identified himself in images of the attack.
Zapeta's lawyer, public defender Andrew Friedman, did not speak to reporters after the arraignment. A message seeking comment was left for him.
Video on social media appears to show some people looking on from the platform and at least one police officer walking by while the woman is on fire inside the train.
NYPD Transit Chief Joseph Gulotta said Sunday that several officers responded to the fire and one stayed to keep the crime scene “the way it’s supposed to be" while the others went to get fire extinguishers and transit workers.
“Officers who were on patrol on an upper level of that station smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
They eventually put the fire out, but “unfortunately, it was too late,” Tisch said, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Zapeta was taken into custody Sunday afternoon while riding a train on the same subway line after teenagers recognized him from images circulated by the police.
A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal immigration officials said Zapeta was deported in 2018 but later reentered the U.S. illegally.
The crime deepened a growing sense of unease among some New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system, amplified by graphic video of the attack that ricocheted across social media.
“It creeped me out real bad,” said Deandre Nelson, 22.
Others said the attack hasn’t changed their daily routine or how they feel about the subway.
“I don’t think it gave me pause," said Collin Burroughs, 24. “I think it mostly just made me sad.”
Overall, crime is down in the transit system compared to last year.
Major felonies declined 6% between January and November compared to the same time period last year, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But murders are up, with nine killings this year through November compared to five during the same period last year.
There have also been several high-profile incidents, including one in September where police inadvertently shot two bystanders and a fellow officer when they opened fire on a man holding a knife in front of a train.
Earlier this month, a Manhattan jury acquitted former Marine Daniel Penny in the chokehold death last year of an agitated subway rider. The case became a flashpoint in debates over safety, homelessness and mental illness on the system.
Policing the subway is difficult, given the vast network of trains moving between 472 stations. Each stop contains multiple entry points and, in many stations, multiple floors and platforms.
This story has been corrected to show that the name of Zapeta's lawyer is Andrew Friedman, not Ed Friedman.
Associated Press reporter Melissa Goldin contributed to this report.
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Sebastian Zapeta, 2nd left, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)
A suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (WABC-TV via AP)
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Persistent high surf and flooding threats along California’s coast had residents on high alert a day after a major storm was blamed for one man’s death and the partial collapse of a pier, which propelled three people into the Pacific Ocean.
The National Weather Service on Christmas Eve warned of dangerous, large-breaking waves of up to 35 feet (10.7 meters). Its latest high surf warning will be in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the weather service said in a Christmas Eve bulletin.
In Santa Cruz, where a municipal wharf under construction partially collapsed on Monday, most beaches were cordoned off as they were inundated with high surf and debris.
Residents received an alert on their phones Tuesday morning notifying them to “avoid all beaches including coastal overlook areas such as rocks, jetties or cliffs.” It warned powerful waves could sweep entire beaches unexpectedly.
Local officials said there could be further damage to the wharf, but no more pieces broke off overnight.
The wharf collapsed and fell into the ocean midday Monday, taking three people with it. Two people were rescued by lifeguards and a third swam to safety. No one was seriously injured.
Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said in the weeks and months ahead officials will have to assess long-term solutions for protecting the coastal city from the impacts of climate change.
“Hallelujah that no one was hurt in this, which could have been orders of magnitude worse in terms of any injuries to human beings and damage to property onshore and offshore,” he said at a media briefing Tuesday.
“But I think we have somewhat of a question mark as we move through time,” he added. “And I don't think we're by ourselves. I think this is what coastal communities around the world are probably dealing with.”
The structure was in the middle of a $4 million renovation following destructive storms last winter about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of San Francisco.
“It’s a catastrophe for those down at the end of the wharf,” said David Johnston, who was allowed onto the pier on Monday to check on his business, Venture Quest Kayaking.
Tony Elliot, the head of the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department, estimated that about 150 feet (45 meters) of the end of the wharf fell into the water. It was immediately evacuated and will remain closed indefinitely.
Some of the wharf’s pilings are still in the ocean and remain “serious, serious hazards” to boats, the mayor said. Each piling weighs hundreds of pounds and is being pushed by powerful waves.
“You are risking your life, and those of the people that would need to try and save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said on the social platform X.
Building inspectors were looking at the rest of the pier’s structural integrity.
Some California cities ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon as forecasters warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day.
In Watsonville along the Monterey Bay, first responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state park, around 11:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a man trapped under debris. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believes a large wave pinned him there. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The storm’s high surf also likely pulled another man into the Pacific Ocean around noon Monday at Marina State Beach, nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of Watsonville, authorities said. Strong currents and high waves forced searchers to abandon their efforts roughly two hours later as conditions worsened. The man remained missing Monday evening.
Further south in Carmel Bay, a man remained missing as of Tuesday afternoon after reports that someone was swept off the rocks into the ocean at Pebble Beach on Monday, local emergency responders said. The U.S. Coast Guard will "transition to a recovery search as ocean conditions improve in the coming days,” officials said in a statement.
In a post on X, the National Weather Service office in Portland, Oregon, said, “It will likely go down as some of the highest surf this winter.”
Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Sacramento and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.
Two surfers walk along the beach as waves crash in Seal Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Waves crash past a pier in Ventura, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Jeff Parker, wearing a Santa Claus hat, watches as a surfer rides a wave in Seal Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A surfer rides a large wave at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Visitors walk along the beach as high surf comes in Ventura, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Birds fly past the Hermosa Beach Pier as storm surf pounds the beach on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People brave the rain and walk along the Manhattan Beach Pier to watch high surf on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People stand at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier and watch high surf pound the pylons on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People pump water out of a boat in Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A damaged dock piling is pulled out of Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Overturned boats are shown in Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A man walks by overturned boats in Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Trash and damaged boat parts float through Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Remnants of a bathroom that fell off the wharf are seen at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A building floats in the ocean after a wharf partially collapsed Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
Damage to the Santa Cruz Wharf is seen in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Damage to the Santa Cruz Wharf is seen in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Damage is seen on the end of Santa Cruz Wharf during high surf in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A building floats in the ocean after a wharf partially collapsed Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
A building floats in the ocean after a wharf partially collapsed Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)
A person takes a photo of high surf near the Santa Cruz Wharf in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A security guard watches the entrance to the closed Santa Cruz Wharf in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
