The illegal Guatemalan migrant accused of setting a straphanger on fire and gawking as she burned to death was once deported — but sneaked back into the US and the Big Apple shelter system, sources told The Post.
The accused firebug, who has not yet been charged, first entered the US illegally at the Arizona border in 2018, but was nabbed just days later and shipped back home.
He later crossed the border again, dodging federal agents and finding his way north to the five boroughs — although it is unclear how long he was in the city before the horrific F train attack Sunday, the sources said.
Police busted the man accused of lighting a woman on fire on the F train in Brooklyn on Dec. 22, 2024. G.N.Miller/NYPost
Surveillance footage of the suspect watching the woman burn to death on the train. Obtained by the Post
The Post confirmed the suspect is a migrant from Guatemala who is in the US illegally. DCPI
What is clear is that by April 2023 he was staying at a Days Inn hotel on 36th Street which had been converted into a migrant shelter — the first of four tax-funded facilities in the city.
When he was issued a transit ticket in 2023, he gave an address of a shelter on Randall’s Island, the sources said.
On Sunday, police said he was at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station, calmly watching the sleeping passenger he allegedly set on fire as she apparently burned to death.
Dramatic video obtained by The Post shows cops swarming the fiery scene, with the migrant getting up and walking away.
But cops nabbed him and took him into custody.
Law enforcement sources said the illegal firebug is being held pending autopsy results on the victim.
Follow the latest on the migrant accused of burning a woman to death on the subway:
Brooklyn prosecutors are now awaiting word on whether the flames caused the woman’s death — which could mean murder charges against the suspect.
“The depravity of this horrific crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice,” DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
“This gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will be met with the most serious consequences,” the statement went on. “Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe on our subways, and we will do everything in our power to ensure accountability in this case.”
The suspect does not appear to have any other previous criminal history, sources said.
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Publish date : 2024-12-23 02:59:00
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