Some Thoughts for The Woman Who Was Burned to Death Aboard the F Train in NYC

Yesterday morning, a woman aboard the F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn was killed by another passenger who set her on fire. 

There is a male suspect in custody named Sebastian Zapeta who is a Guatemalan national and, in this country, illegally. This is the main reason the New York Post (Illegal immigrant Sebastian Zapeta faces murder rap for allegedly burning woman to death on NYC subway as DA promises ‘most serious consequences’) and Fox News ("Suspect accused of burning woman to death on NYC subway is previously deported illegal immigrant") are interested in this story. 

From where I sit, Zapeta's immigration status is immaterial. Most immigrants, even those here illegally, manage to go through life without deliberately burning someone to death. As for Zapeta, he did a heinous thing, and he deserves the severest form of punishment possible for his actions up to and including the death penalty. 

Yes, the argument can be made that had Zapeta not been here this crime would never have happened. That's all well and good but it would suggest that this act would have been somehow less heinous had it been committed by a native born American. 

On a personal note, when I lived in NYC, I used to ride the F train to Brooklyn from time to time to go bowl at the now defunct Shell Lanes (which has since become Bowl 360 Brooklyn) across the street from the Avenue U station - only four stops away from where this incident occurred. 

With that, let us turn our attention to the woman who died aboard the F train. As of this writing, the woman has not been identified. Because of the severity of her injuries, she would most likely be identified by her dental records. 

Let us suppose she is soon identified. Now let us further suppose that the victim turns out to be an illegal immigrant herself, possibly homeless. Should this come to pass, I don't think either the New York Post or Fox News will pursue this story with the same vigor as they are now. I suspect that these news outlets will shift their emphasis to crime on NYC subways in general as NY Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is receiving sharp criticism for stating that crime on the NYC subways is down only hours yesterday morning's incident. Mind you, Hochul is probably right but the timing her of statement struck the wrong chord.

The reason I mention this possibility is because the woman was attacked while she was sleeping aboard the train. In my experience in both Boston and New York, when people are asleep aboard a subway car, they usually have nowhere else to go. Of course, it is entirely possible the victim might not fit this profile at all. Nevertheless, I don't think we can discount the possibility. 

The long and the short of it is this woman died in as painful and violent a manner as you can imagine, and she ought to be mourned with compassion regardless of what her station was in life.