Written by Rich McKay
(Reuters) – The man accused of killing a woman sleeping in a New York City subway car by setting her on fire was indicted by a grand jury on Friday on murder and arson charges, prosecutors announced.
The district attorney's office said that the defendant, Sebastian Zabetta, 33, was not present at the brief hearing in a Brooklyn court.
Zabeta's court-appointed lawyer did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment.
The grand jury indicted him on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and one count of first-degree arson, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told the media. Earlier this week, he was charged in a criminal complaint in Brooklyn Criminal Court with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree arson.
“My office is extremely confident in the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zapeta accountable for his treacherous actions,” Gonzalez told reporters. He described the attack as a “malicious act” against a “sleeping and vulnerable woman.”
The US Department of Homeland Security said the suspect was a Guatemalan citizen who entered the country illegally and that it would eventually take deportation proceedings against him. Police say he was living in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn.
According to police, Zabetta used a lighter to ignite the clothes of a woman who appeared to be sleeping on a stopped F train at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue subway station on Sunday.
The suspect then used a shirt to start the fire until the woman was engulfed in flames, the police complaint said.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene after the fire was extinguished. The city's coroner said the cause of death was smoke inhalation and thermal injuries. Police did not immediately know the woman's identity, according to the complaint.
Gonzalez said Zabeta faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. The district attorney's office said Zabetta will be arraigned on January 7.
