The man accused of killing a woman by setting her on fire in a subway car in New York City was allegedly so drunk during the attack that he doesn't remember doing it, officials say.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, reacted with shock and surprise when shown the footage of the attack, which occurred at a Brooklyn F train station.
"Oh damn, that's me!" exclaimed the Guatemalan native to NYPD detectives.
"No, the truth is I don't remember," he said. "Oh my goodness!"
He reportedly found the footage disturbing, wiping his eyes and putting his head down on the table in front of him, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by the New York Post after being unsealed in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Tuesday.
"Sometimes when I drink and erase the memory, and I don't know, right?" Zapeta-Calil allegedly told cops just hours after the incident.
On Dec. 22, Zapeta-Calil allegedly walked up to 57-year-old Debrina Kawam as she slept in a subway car and lit her clothes on fire with a lighter. Kawam then burned to death as Zapeta-Calil watched.
On Tuesday, Zapeta-Calil appeared in court and was arraigned on murder and arson charges. He further admitted his status as an undocumented immigrant, stating that he entered the country illegally five years ago.
He spoke about his issues with alcoholism, and that he was usually drunk.
"When I wake up, I'm already in the house, already sleeping. I wake up when I'm already home, or there are times when I wake up and I'm already at the train station," he said. "I was drunk. I drink in the afternoons."
"About 8 or 9 in the morning, I stayed on 18th Avenue," he allegedly said. "I really don't remember how I got on this F train. When I reacted, I was already on it. When I woke up, I was already on the F train."
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is set to return to court in May.
"I am very sorry," he allegedly told NYPD detectives. "I didn't mean to. But I really don't know. I don't know what happened, but I'm very sorry for that woman."
Originally published on Latin Times
