Homeless woman dies after she's lit on fire while sleeping in Brooklyn subway car: NYPD

John Annese, New York Daily News on Dec 22, 2024

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A man lit a sleeping homeless woman on fire in a Brooklyn subway car, then apparently watched calmly as she burned to death early Sunday, cops and sources said.

Chilling video obtained by the Daily News shows the woman standing near the door of a stopped subway car at the Coney-Island-Stillwell Ave., burning alive, while a man sits on a bench on the platform a few feet away and casually watches.

Cops on Sunday released photos of the suspected firebug, and his outfit is strikingly similar to the man caught on video sitting on the bench, watching the woman burn.

“This is a person right here! Oh s–t!” a voice can be heard on the cellphone video as the woman is seen engulfed in flames while what looks like a police officer walks by and talks into a radio.

The woman, who sources said was homeless, was sleeping in a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Ave. subway stop at about 7:30 a.m., cops said.

The man torched her and walked out of the subway car, police said. EMS medics responded, and the woman was pronounced dead on the subway platform.

Police have made no arrests in the case. The woman’s identity has not yet been released.

The NYPD is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information about the suspect, who they describe as about 25 to 30 years old, about 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark colored knit hat with a red band, and brown boots.

Cops ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

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