AN illegal migrant has been named as the alleged killer who murdered a woman by setting her on fire on a New York subway.
A Guatemalan migrant named Sebastian Zapeta-Calil faces charges of murder and arson for allegedly setting fire to a sleeping woman and watching her burn. He entered the US illegally before being accused of this heinous crime.
Sickening footage appears to show Zapeta-Calil, 33, watching flames engulf the woman’s body as he sits on a bench on the subway platform.
The horrifying attack happened on an F train in Brooklyn on Sunday morning.
The woman’s body was so badly burned that it was making an autopsy more challenging, the New York Post reported.
Zapeta-Calil, meanwhile, is believed to have been deported from the US after being arrested at the Mexican border in Arizona on June 1, 2018.
He was kicked out of the country but he re-entered illegally at some point.
Recently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul faced criticism for appearing “tone deaf” in a social media post. In the post, she was seen smiling on the subway and boasting about the improved safety in the city under her leadership.
Governor Hochul’s selfie on the subway, posted on a Sunday, highlighted her claim that crime rates had dropped in New York City following her decision to deploy the National Guard to subway stations earlier in the year.
“In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day,” Hochul wrote in the post, which was shared on X and Instagram.
She added, “Crime is going down, and ridership is going up.”
Social media users were quick to blast her for sharing the claims just eight hours after news of the subway rider’s death was reported.
Fellow lawmakers slammed Hochul for the post, including New York Democratic Representative Richie Torres, who also referenced another brutal crime from the weekend.
“Two hours ago, Kathy Hochul took a victory lap for making subways ‘safer,'” Torres wrote on X.
“She congratulates herself on the same day two subway riders were stabbed in Queens (one in the face and one in the chest) and another was barbarically burned alive.
“Has there ever been a more tone-deaf Governor in the history of New York?”
Melissa DeRosa, who served as secretary under former governor Andrew Cuomo, slammed Hochul as ignorant.
“[Two] people were murdered in the subway today,” DeRosa wrote.
“The governor of the state of ny is a tourist who can’t even bother to read a newspaper while she’s in town.”
In the comments of Hochul’s post, social media users replied with graphic footage of the immolation.
‘YOU MAKE ME SICK’
Others said the timing of the post was out of touch while crime persists on the subway.
“A woman was set on fire today and killed. But go on with your photo-op. You make me sick,” one Instagram user slammed.
Make no mistake: any crime is one too many, even with subway crime going down.”
Kathy Hochul
“An innocent woman was set on fire and murdered on the train this morning. And a man killed someone who tried to rob him on the train last night: I wouldn’t describe the subways as being safe but that’s just me,” another commented.
“Wasn’t a women set on fire today as well? You have the nerve to say it’s safe,” another wrote.
“Sorry Kathy your private subway car closed off by your security detail doesn’t count.”
Others called for the governor’s resignation.
“You need to resign. This job is not for you,” one slammed.
“Please resign and leave New York and never go back into politics,” a second advised.
Hochul took office in August 2021 as the first female governor of New York.
HOCHUL’S RESPONSE
Two hours after her puffed-up post, Hochul somberly acknowledged that the New York Police Department arrested someone for Sunday’s disturbing murder.
“A suspect is now in custody for the horrific incident on the F train,” Hochul wrote.
“Our brand-new security cameras helped law enforcement find the suspect and arrest him,” Hochul said, once again pointing to her efforts to increase subway safety.
“Make no mistake: any crime is one too many, even with subway crime going down. We are continuing to surge personnel and resources to make our subways safer.”
Hochul’s office hasn’t responded to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
ABOUT THE SUSPECT
Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil was arrested in connection to the crime.
Cops said the alleged suspect threw a lighter on the woman, who hasn’t been identified, and watched as she quickly went up in flames.
NYPD said on Monday that the suspect and his alleged victim had no interaction before the crime.
The pair reportedly didn’t know each other, officials said.
Zapeta-Calil snuck past US authorities and stayed in migrant shelters in New York City until allegedly killing the woman on the F train.
The suspect was reportedly issued a transit ticket in 2023 but has no other previous criminal history.
