NEW YORK — A man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to burning a sleeping woman to death inside a New York City subway train. Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was arraigned on murder and arson charges in Brooklyn court in connection with the killing of Debrina Kawam, 57.

New Jersey woman Debrina Kawam was burned to death on the subway. Posts sharing an AI-generated photo misidentified the victim as Amelia Carter.

The man charged with burning a woman to death on a New York City subway train pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and arson charges.

The woman, Debrina Kawam, was from Toms River, a township on the Jersey Shore, according to the NYPD. New York City Mayor Eric Adams added that Kawam had a “brief stint in our homeless shelter system,” though did not say when.

The man accused of killing a woman sleeping on a New York City subway car by setting her on fire pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and arson at a court hearing on Tuesday. A grand jury has indicted Sebastian Zapeta,

Sebastian Zapeta, the man accused of setting a woman on fire on the NYC subway, pleads not guilty in the death of Debrina Kawam.

Despite previously confirming his identity in surveillance footage, Sebastian Zapeta pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and arson.