A man is accused of murder and arson in the New York subway

Prosecutors have officially charged a man with the death of a woman who was set on fire on a New York subway train.

On Friday, Sebastian Sapeta was charged with murder and arson, although he did not appear during a brief court hearing.

Mr. Zapeta, 33, is accused of setting fire to the woman, who may have been sleeping on the train, and fanning the flames with his shirt. The identity of the victim has not been established.

The suspect has been held without bail since his arrest shortly after the incident.

The BBC has contacted Mr Sapeta’s lawyer for comment.

Police say a woman was sitting on a train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn on Sunday morning when a man approached her and set her clothes on fire with a lighter.

There was no interaction between the pair before the attack and police believe they were not acquainted.

Law enforcement officers extinguished the flames, but the woman died at the scene.

The man got off the train as officers patrolling the station opened fire, but he did not run away immediately and his face was caught on police cameras.

At a news conference earlier this week, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes that one person can commit against another person.”

“Unbeknownst to the responding officers, the suspect remained at the scene and was sitting on a bench on the platform outside the train car,” Ms Tisch said.

The suspect then left the scene, and authorities say three high school students later identified him in photos released by police.

Mr Sapeta, who is originally from Guatemala, was deported from the US in 2018 and later re-entered the country illegally, immigration authorities said.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, prosecutor Ari Rothenberg said Mr. Zappetto told investigators he had been drinking and did not remember the incident, but identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire starting.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged federal authorities to also charge Mr. Zapeta with arson in addition to the state charges he now faces. In a statement, the mayor said: “Setting another person on fire and watching them burn alive represents a level of evil that cannot be tolerated.”

A vigil was held Thursday evening for the victim, who was so badly burned that police had difficulty identifying her.

False and unverified information about her, including a fake photo created by artificial intelligence, is circulating on the Internet. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez told reporters Friday that authorities are still working to identify the woman through fingerprints and DNA.

Mr Sapeta is due back in court on January 7, prosecutors said.