The woman who died after being set on fire in a New York City subway car has been identified as Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey.
Kawam was sleeping on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn when she was set on fire allegedly by illegal Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil.
Zapeta-Calil faces first-degree murder charges.
The NYPD has identified the woman who was burned to death onboard an F train in Brooklyn as 61-year-old Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey.
Kawam was set on fire and killed while likely asleep on a stationary train at the Stillwell Avenue subway station on Dec. 22.… pic.twitter.com/eUD8MKuMJh
— Crime In NYC (@CrimeInNYC) December 31, 2024
From the New York Post:
Horrifying video footage shows the accused killer fanning the flames as Kawam was consumed by the flames — and calmly watching the scorched victim from a bench on the platform.
The Coalition for the Homeless described her as homeless.
ADVERTISEMENTKawam was identified through fingerprints, sources said.
The sources said Kawam had been living in Big Apple shelters since at least Sept. 9, and had been given a bed at the Franklin Williams Women’s Shelter in the Bronx on Nov. 30, but left on Dec. 2.
She had at least three prior scrapes with the police — a transit bust for alcohol on April 28, a 2010 disorderly conduct charge in Maryland in 2010, and a New Jersey prostitution bust in 1994, according to law enforcement sources.
They have identified the woman in the subway attack.
61 year old Debrina Kawam
She was homeless and asleep when she was set on fire by an illegal immigrant. She was so badly burned they struggled to identify her at first. pic.twitter.com/9wqTnnkFTh
— Sarah Sansoni (@sarahsansoni) December 31, 2024
“She resided in New Jersey and had a brief stint in our shelter system,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, according to the New York Post.
“But it really reinforces what I’ve been saying, people should not be living on our subway system. They should be in a place of care," he added.
Fox News reports:
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, a previously deported immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested hours after the horrific incident which shocked the nation.
He's been indicted on one count of murder in the first degree, three counts of murder in the second degree and one count of arson in relation to the horrific case.
Surveillance video of the attack showed the suspect approaching the woman, who was sitting motionless and may have been sleeping, while aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station and then setting her on fire.
ADVERTISEMENTPolice say Zapeta used a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds. Video from the scene shows Kawam standing while on fire, indicating she was alive when set on fire.
The suspect then stayed on the scene and sat on a bench just outside the train car, as officers and a transit worker extinguished the flames. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
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