A woman was set on fire in the New York subway: who is she?

NEW YORK – Sebastian Sapeta-Kalil, the man accused of setting a woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway train Sunday, has been charged with multiple counts of murder and arson.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is expected to announce formal charges against Zapeta-Kalil at 10 a.m. this morning.

There are also questions about whether Sapeta-Kalil could face deportation. A spokesman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he entered the country illegally.

Meanwhile, a vigil was held on Thursday for a woman who burned to death Her identity remains unknown.

Sources in law enforcement agencies tell FOX 5 NY that DNA testing has been conducted, but the victim has not yet been identified. The authorities only know that she was homeless.

This is an evolving story. Check for updates.

FOX 5 NY will be streaming the press conference live in the player above.

Who is Sebastian Sapeta-Kalil?

Zapeta-Kalil was detained by border guards on June 1, 2018 after he illegally crossed into Sonoita, Arizona. He was deported by the Trump administration just days later on June 7, ICE spokeswoman Marie Ferguson told FOX News.

“Sebastian Sapeta-Kalil, 33, is an illegal citizen of Guatemala who entered the United States without immigration clearance,” said a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ferguson added that Sapeta then entered the United States again illegally “at an unknown date and place.”

Chronology of events: what happened to the woman set on fire in the New York subway?

The victim, as well as the suspect, were both riding the F train shortly before 7:30 a.m. to the Stillwell Avenue subway station in Coney Island on Sunday, Dec. 22, according to police.

Police said the two did not know each other.

“With the help of an MTA employee and a fire extinguisher, the flames were extinguished. Unfortunately, it was too late.” This was announced by New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

When the train stopped at the end of the line, police said the suspect calmly approached a seated woman and lit her on fire with a lighter. The woman’s clothing was “completely absorbed within seconds,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday.

“Officers patrolling the upper level of this station smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. They saw a person standing inside the car completely engulfed in flames,” Tisch said.

The woman, whose identity has not been established, died at the scene.

The transport police arrested the suspect after receiving a statement from three high school students who recognized him. They saw images of the man taken from surveillance cameras and a police body camera and widely distributed by police.

Unbeknownst to police, the suspect remained at the scene and sat on a bench on the subway platform near the car, Tisch said. Body cameras worn by the officers captured a “very clear, detailed view” of the suspect, and those images have been released.

After later receiving a 911 call from the teenagers, other transit officers identified the suspect on another subway train and radioed to the next station, where other officers held the train doors closed, searched each car and eventually took him into custody without incident, the department chief said. Transit Joseph Gulotta. The suspect had a lighter in his pocket when he was taken into custody, Tisch said.

Police have identified the suspect as 33-year-old Sebastian Sapet-Kalil. He was charged with murder, among other charges.

Crime and Public SafetyNew York City Subway