The suspect is accused of setting a sleeping woman's clothes on fire, using his shirt to fan the flames and then sitting on a platform bench nearby.

The man accused of killing a woman by setting her on fire on a New York City subway car last month pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday and was ordered held without bail.

The deadly fire on the F train was one of several high-profile acts of violence in New York City's subway system at the end of last year, even as transit crime dropped overall in 2024. The NYPD on Monday pledged to send 200 more officers into the subway, with a focus on train cars and platforms.

The man accused of killing a woman sleeping on a New York City subway car by setting her on fire pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and arson at a court hearing on Tuesday.

The man accused of killing of a woman by setting her on fire on a New York City subway car last month pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday. Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old undocumented migrant from Guatemala, set 57-year-old Debrina Kawam on fire as she was asleep in the subway car in Brooklyn on Dec. 22, said authorities.

A grand jury indicted Sebastian Zapeta on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and arson in the first degree.

The man accused of burning a woman alive while she was asleep on a New York City subway is set to be arraigned Tuesday on murder and arson charges. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, will appear in a Brooklyn courtroom around 9:30 a.