Police have arrested a man suspected of burning a woman alive on the New York subway on Sunday. The victim is yet to be identified, police officials said.
The suspect and the victim were both riding the F trainman, when the man&mdash;believed to be a recent immigrant from Guatemala&mdash;intentionally set her on fire, the NYPD said.
Three teens recognized the suspect in the body camera images released by the police and helped identify him, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. The police believe the suspect used a lighter to ignite the victim&rsquo;s clothing. It was found on his person when he was arrested on another train, eight hours after the incident.
Officers patrolling the Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn &ldquo;smelled and saw smoke,&rdquo; prompting them to investigate. They then found the subway car, where <a href="https://x.com/BenefitNews24/status/1871034105569370158/video/1">the victim was on fire</a>, Tisch said. While officials extinguished the fire, paramedics who responded to the emergency call pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
While the police had initially thought that the killer had fled the scene before they arrived, Tisch said, the suspect was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car. &ldquo;Body cameras worn by the responding officers produced a very clear detailed look at the killer,&rdquo; Tisch said. He allegedly watched as the victim burned.
Officials initially thought that the woman had been asleep when she was set on fire. However, surveillance footage shows that while she was &ldquo;motionless&rdquo;, it is unclear if she was actually sleeping. Police say they do not believe the man and woman knew each other. They are investigating the motive in the case, which is being treated as a homicide, officials said.

Surveillance footage played a key role in nabbing the suspect

Man set ‘motionless’ woman on fire and watched as she burned alive, suspect ID’d in body-cam footage

1 Arrested in NY Subway Murder

Man set ‘motionless’ woman on fire and watched as she burned alive, suspect ID’d in body-cam footage

December 23, 2024 | 10:22 IST