Previously deported illegal immigrant accused of setting woman on fire in NYC subway

The migrant from Guatemala who was arrested in connection to the heinous death of a woman who was set on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday was previously deported.

Sebastin Zapeta, 33, was arrested by Border Patrol on June 1st, 2018 after he crossed illegally into Sonoita, Arizona, and was deported by the Trump administration just days later on June 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Marie Ferguson told Fox News.

Ferguson added that Zapeta then re-entered the U.S. illegally “on an unknown date and location.”

She added that after Zapeta is charged and details of where he is being held are released, Enforcement and Removal Operations “will lodge an immigration detainer with the NYPD location where he is being held.

Police investigates the scene where a woman died after being lit on fire by a man aboard an MTA subway train as she slept at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York, United States on Sunday, December 22, 2024. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Her clothing “became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds,” said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, describing the case as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.”

The suspect then sat on a nearby bench outside the train car and watched as officers and a transit worker extinguished the flames. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police investigate at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn after a woman aboard a subway car was set on fire and died in New York, United States on December 22, 2024. Police believe the woman had been sleeping aboard the train when a man approached her and set her on fire. She was pronounced dead at the scene. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

He was arrested hours later while riding on the same subway line. Tisch added that the person of interest was found with a lighter in his pocket.

“The depravity of this horrific crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice,” the DA’s office said. “This gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will be met with the most serious consequences. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe on our subways, and we will do everything in our power to ensure accountability in this case. I commend the NYPD for their swift work in apprehending the suspect.”

Fox News’ Seth Andrews, Greg Wehner and the Associated Press contributed to this report.