NY seeks life without parole for subway murder suspect

The Star

New York prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty of life without parole for Sebastian Zapeta, the man accused of killing a woman on a New York City subway train by setting her on fire on Dec 22.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00This was a malicious deed, a sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system.

00:08New York prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty of life without parole for the 33-year-old

00:14man accused of killing a woman on a subway train by setting her on fire earlier this

00:19week.

00:20Sebastian Zepeta, who police say lives at a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, allegedly

00:25used a lighter to ignite the clothes of a woman who appeared to be sleeping on a stationary

00:30F train at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue subway station on December 22nd.

00:35We take our first significant step towards pursuing justice in this case with the grand

00:43jury having indicted Sebastian Zepeta with four counts of murder, murder in the first

00:53degree, three counts of murder in the second degree, and arson in the first degree.

00:59Murder in the first degree carries the possibility of life without parole.

01:03It's the most serious statute in New York state law, and my office is very confident

01:09about the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zepeta accountable for his dastardly

01:16deeds.

01:17There is no death penalty in the state of New York, so that's why the maximum penalty

01:22here is life without the possibility of parole.

01:25We have a long way to go.

01:26This is really the first significant step of today in holding him accountable is going

01:31to be the felony arraignment, again, on January 7th.

01:35The prosecutors said they are working to identify the victim.

01:38We're working on trying to go back and trace when she entered the subway system and exactly,

01:44you know, if there's a clear shot of her face.

01:48It's a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman

01:54so we can notify her family of what had happened to her.

01:59Investigators said during the incident, the accused used a shirt to fan the fire until

02:05the woman was engulfed in flames.

02:07The victim was pronounced dead after the fire was extinguished, and the city's medical examiner

02:13said the cause of death was smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

02:18For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov

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