New York — The suspect who set a woman on fire on a New York City subway said he didn’t remember anything, although he told detectives “Oh, shit, that’s me” after watching video of the crime, according to a transcript released Tuesday.
The interview was released shortly after Sebastian Zapeta, 33, pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges in a Brooklyn court. Prosecutors said he set fire to Debrina Khawam, 57, aboard a stopped train in the early morning of December 22, fanning the flames with his shirt and watching the woman burn on a subway bench.
Inside the Brooklyn precinct that afternoon, authorities described Safeta reacting to the video with “disgust” and “bizarreness,” wiping his eyes and shouting “Oh, my God” in Spanish.
“I’m really sorry. “I didn’t mean to,” he told detectives. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m so sorry to that woman.”
He added that he had been drinking heavily all night and fell asleep on the subway, but does not remember what happened next.
Zapeta, a Guatemalan citizen who authorities said entered the country illegally after being deported in 2018, was living in a Brooklyn shelter and working as a roofer. He could face up to life in prison without parole for the murder charge.
During a brief arraignment Tuesday, Zapeta stared at the floor as his attorney pleaded not guilty and nodded slightly while a Spanish interpreter whispered in his ear.
He was previously indicted on criminal charges last month, but in New York, all felony cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless the defendant waives that requirement.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office would seek a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He said that after Zapeta was indicted last December, prosecutors were pursuing charges “on the theory that this was an intentional act,” but that the indictment included a charge of “depraved indifference” murder.
“It is difficult to fathom what could lead someone to commit the brutal and horrific murders for which this defendant is accused,” Gonzalez said in a statement Tuesday. “ma’am. Kawam and her loved ones deserve some justice, and New Yorkers deserve to feel safe on the subway.”
Zapeta’s attorney did not respond to an email seeking comment Monday evening.
Kawam grew up in Little Falls, New Jersey, and attended Passaic Valley Regional High School, where she was a popular student, cheerleader and Pancake House employee, her childhood and young adult friends told The New York Times.
In her 20s, she traveled with friends to Jamaica, Mexico, the Bahamas and Las Vegas and had various jobs that never lasted long, friend Cindy Certosimo Bowie told the Times. The Associated Press left a message for relatives.
In the early 2000s, she worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck, but at some point her life took a difficult turn. Public records show she owed money, filed liens and filed for bankruptcy. Debrina Kawam is also listed in court records as having been arrested several times for misdemeanors.
When she filed for bankruptcy in 2008, she owed more than $90,000 and had no income or assets, including clothes, bedding, a television and a $800 Dodge Neon.
She recently moved to New York and briefly stayed in a New York homeless shelter, according to the Department of Human Services. They didn’t say when.
Crime on subways is relatively rare, but the killings have reignited debate about the safety of America’s largest public transportation system.
Data released by police on Monday showed crime on public transport fell 5.4% last year compared to 2023, marking the second consecutive decline, while major crime across the city also fell 3% overall.
Nonetheless, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch discussed statistics at a press conference Monday showing that riders simply “don’t feel safe.”
In response, she said the department will place more than 200 officers on subway trains and more officers on subway platforms at the 50 stations with the highest crime rates in the city.
“We know that 78 percent of public transportation crimes occur on trains and platforms, and that’s where officers need to be,” Tisch said. “This is just the beginning.”
