2024-12-25 17:21:00
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, the illegal Guatemalan migrant accused of burning a woman to death on a Brooklyn subway train in the US, was known for his heavy drinking and frequent use of synthetic drugs, the New York Post reported quoting his former roommates at the Samaritan Village homeless shelter in East New York.
Zapeta-Calil, 33, was arraigned on first-degree murder charges Tuesday after allegedly setting a sleeping woman on fire on an F train at the Coney Island station. He told police he was so intoxicated that he didn’t remember the incident.
Raymond Robinson, who slept next to Zapeta-Calil at the shelter, painted a disturbing picture of his former roommate’s behaviour. “He smoked K2, drank and bugged out,” Robinson said. “He would bug out and talk to himself when he was high, but he never harmed nobody or himself. When he wasn’t high he’d talk like we’re talking regular.” Robinson added that Zapeta-Calil smoked about $30 worth of K2 daily and became erratic when drinking.
Police say Zapeta-Calil was heavily intoxicated when the attack occurred. Surveillance footage shows him fanning the flames of the fire and sitting calmly on a bench while the victim burned inside the train. Zapeta-Calil, who was charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree arson, was ordered held without bail during his arraignment.
Robinson described Zapeta-Calil as friendly and polite when sober. “He was a nice guy, quiet, he kept to himself,” Robinson said. “He was very gentle, nice and spoke to you with good manners and respect. That’s why this s–t f—ed my head up because I slept next to him, and he was never like that.” However, Robinson noted that Zapeta-Calil’s drinking, particularly his preference for cheap vodka, made him unpredictable.
Another shelter resident, Juan Medrano, said Zapeta-Calil was “in his own world” and “kind of awkward,” but never caused trouble at the shelter. “He was never in trouble at the shelter,” Medrano said.
The tragic incident has left those who knew Zapeta-Calil struggling to reconcile his past behaviour with the horrific crime he’s now accused of committing.
