The illegal immigrant accused of setting a homeless woman on fire and watching her burn to death inside a New York City subway train pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the killing that brought greater attention to violence on the bustling rail system.

Guatemalan national Sebastian Zapeta, 33, entered the not guilty plea on murder and arson charges in Brooklyn Court after he was linked to the slaying of 57-year-old Debrina Kawam last month.

Prosecutors said the migrant lit Kawam — who was a total stranger to Mr. Zapeta — on fire, then fanned the flames until she was engulfed in the blaze. 

The suspect allegedly took a seat at the Coney Island subway station and watched the victim burn alive on Dec. 22.

Police said Mr. Zapeta was arrested on a Manhattan subway train that day after he was spotted by a group of high schoolers.

During his initial interrogation, prosecutors said Mr. Zapeta identified himself from surveillance footage taken during the attack, but said he drinks heavily and doesn’t remember the incident.

Mr. Zapeta has been kept behind bars as the court case proceeds. 

The Guatemalan, who had no prior criminal record in the U.S., entered Arizona illegally in 2018 and was deported less than a week later. 

It’s unclear when he reentered the country, but Mr. Zapeta listed a New York City migrant shelter as his residence when he was given a transit citation in April 2023.

Kawam’s killing was the 11th homicide on the subway last year, marking a 25-year high on the rails and has upended a sense of safety for straphangers. 

Riders’ anxiety on the rails has been deepened by more recent violence, such as a homeless man accused of stabbing two people at random within 24 hours last week.

Police said Sunday they arrested suspect Jamar Banks, 52, in connection to the two, seemingly random stabbings in Manhattan and the Bronx. The Jan. 1 stabbing involved the assailant starting an argument with a man, then knifing him in the back. The next day, the aggressor picked a fight with an off-duty subway custodian before stabbing him in the back as well.

Banks has more than 80 prior arrests, according to the New York Daily News.

A New Year’s Eve attack where a masked man shoved an unsuspecting victim in front of a train further unnerved subway passengers.

Miraculously, the victim fell into a trench on the tracks and escaped with only a skull fracture and a few broken ribs.

The suspect, 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins, had a lengthy arrest record that included charges for body-slamming a police officer in 2019 and an open assault and weapons case in Brooklyn from October.

It’s unclear if Mr. Hawkins was convicted for those offenses.    

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch acknowledged Monday that riders “don’t feel safe” even as transit crime fell 5% last year.

Ms. Tisch shared a plan to send more than 200 officers onto subway trains and keep cops on the highest-crime subway platforms in the city. 

“We know that 78% of transit crime occurs on trains and on platforms, and that is quite obviously where our officers need to be,” Ms. Tisch said. “This is just the beginning.”

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.