A man pleads not guilty to setting a woman on fire in the New York subway

NEW YORK — A man accused of set a woman on fire in a New York subway car pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning.

33-year-old Sebastian Sapeta was charged last month on four counts of murder and one count of arson resulting in death 57-year-old Debrina Kawam.

He appeared in a Brooklyn courtroom on Tuesday and was arraigned through an interpreter. His next court hearing was scheduled for March 12.

Human rights activists gathered outside the courthouse, saying Kawam’s family was devastated, and they announced that her relatives would hold a memorial later this month.

“The family is going through difficult times. They’re not known for being in the public eye, they don’t like to be in the public eye,” said the Rev. Kevin McCall, founder of the Crisis Action Center.

“She was loved, she was not alone. Even at that moment, she may have looked alone, but there is a family that mourns her loss, that loved her,” added Pastor Charmaine Byrd.

A memorial service is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Jan. 12 at the First Baptist Church of Sheepshead Bay on East 15th Street in Brooklyn.

Debrina Kavam burned to death on the New York subway

Prosecutors say Zapeta intentionally set Kawam on fire Dec. 22 while she was sleeping on the F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. The authorities say that he fanned the fire with his shirt before sitting on a bench on the platform and watching it burn.

Kavam, a native of Toms River, New Jersey, who was homeless at the time, died in the attack.

Prosecutors say Zapeta confirmed to police that he was man in photos and videos from surveillance cameras but said that he drinks a lot of alcohol and does not remember what happened.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the crime a malicious act and said the charges now against Zapeta are “significant” because first-degree murder carries the possibility of life in prison without parole.

“It is difficult to understand what could have motivated someone to commit the brutal and horrific murder of which this defendant is accused,” prosecutors said in a statement on Tuesday. “My office quickly obtained an indictment and we are determined to impose the harshest punishment for this horrific and inhumane act. Ms. Kavam and her loved ones deserve some measure of justice, and New Yorkers deserve to feel safe on the subway.”

Sapeta entered the United States illegally from Guatemala in 2018, according to immigration officials. He was deported, and then re-entered the country.

The NYPD is sending more officers to subway platforms and cars

After several recent terrorist attacks in the subway, including a a passenger is pushed in front of a train in Chelsea and several transit woundsthe NYPD is adding more underground patrols.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Monday that crime during transit has dropped by more than 5 percent, but they acknowledged that many people still don’t feel safe.

“Starting this week, I’ve ordered that we move more than 200 officers to the trains to patrol special trains, and I’ve also ordered that we put more officers on subway platforms at the 50 highest-crime stations in the city,” Tisch said.

The commissioner said 78 per cent of crime on the Metro takes place on trains and platforms, and that is where officers will focus. She also praised the officers, saying crime — on and off the subway — has gone down, no matter what.

“The deck has been completely turned against our police officers, and there is one glaring problem – the increase in recidivism,” she said. “Imagine how frustrating it is for our police officers to arrest the same people day after day for the same crimes in the same neighborhoods, and imagine how terrifying it is for the people of New York to see the same person, who became their victim, walks down the street. following streets”.

Last week, New York Governor Cathy Hochul also announced plans for new legislation in the executive budget to change the state standards of compulsory obligations when it comes to people with mental illness in the subway system.

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