Woman killed after being set on fire on subway train

Police have described the incident as 'one of the most depraved crimes'

At around 7:30am local time on Sunday, officers discovered the woman after they "smelled and saw smoke" on the platform at Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

The victim was found "standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames."

Officers managed to extinguish the flames, but the woman died at the scene.

A suspect was later arrested at another subway station in Manhattan around eight hours after the incident, police said.

According to police, the woman was approached by a man on the carriage who used a lighter to ignite her clothing, which "became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds."

The man did not speak to the woman, who was "motionless" when the attack happened, although detectives are trying to establish if she was asleep at the time.

Police have said that they do not believe the two people knew each other.

Commissioner Tisch described the incident as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".

Unbeknownst to officers, the suspected attacker had "stayed at the scene" on a bench on the platform just outside the train car, Commissioner Tisch said. She added that body-worn cameras on the responding officers managed to get a "very clear look at the killer."

The arrested man is in custody with charges pending in an ongoing investigation. He has not been identified, but police did say he is an immigrant from Guatemala, CNN reports.

The victim has not yet been identified.