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A 61-year-old New Jersey woman has been identified as the woman who was set on fire and burned to death on a New York City subway car.
Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey, was sleeping inside a train car at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn on December 22 when the horrific incident occurred.
Authorities previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim. They named her on Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta is facing state murder charges over the harrowing attack, with a criminal complaint alleging that the 33-year-old used a shirt to fan the flames after setting Kawam alight.
Sebastian Zapeta has been charged with murder over the burning death of the woman, who was identified by police on Tuesday as Debrina Kawam of New Jersey (AP)
After setting the fire, Zapeta then sat on a bench on the platform and watched as she burned, prosecutors alleged.
Kawam was pronounced dead at the scene.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that Kawam had a “brief stint in our homeless shelter system” and that authorities had been in contact with her next of kin. He did not say when Kawam was in the homeless system.
“Hearts go out to the family, a horrific incident to have to live through,” Adams said at an unrelated press briefing. “It impacts on how New Yorkers feel. 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. No matter where she lived that should not have happened.”
Police took Zapeta into custody while he was riding a train on the same line subway later that day, after three high schoolers called 911 – having recognized him in the image released by authorities.
The suspect faces one count of first-degree murder and other charges in connection to the shocking incident (FNTV)
Zapeta told investigators that he had drunk liquor and did not know what had happened. However, he did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.
Zapeta faces one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at a press conference that the full indictment against Zapeta will remain under seal until he is arraigned on the new charges on January 7.
Gonzalez added that state charges had been brought to ensure that the “maximum penalty” could be sought for the “heinous” crime.
Federal immigration officials said that the Guatemalan citizen was previously deported in 2018 but returned to the U.S. illegally sometime after that.
On Friday, Zapeta waived his right to a court appearance and will remain jailed at New York’s Rikers Island complex ahead of his arraignment next month.
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