Woman who was set on fire on New York subway was identified as 61-year-old New Jersey resident
A 61-year-old New Jersey woman has been identified as the woman who was set on fire in a New York City subway car.
Debrina Kawam, from Toms River, New Jersey, was sleeping in a train car at the Coney Island-Stilwell 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 victims. They named her Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, faces state murder charges in connection with the harrowing attack, a criminal complaint states. Zapeta used a shirt to fan the flames after setting a kawam on fire.
Sebastian Zapeta has been charged with murder in the burning death of a woman who police identified Tuesday as Debrina Kawam of New Jersey ( Associated Press)
After setting the fire, Zapeta sat on a bench on the platform and watched as she burned, prosecutors said.
Khawam was pronounced dead at the scene.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that Khavam had a “brief stay in our homeless shelter system” and that authorities had been in contact with her next of kin. He did not say when Khawam entered the homeless system.
“My heart goes out to the family, it’s a horrific event that has to be lived through,” Adams said at an unrelated news conference. “It affects how New Yorkers feel. But it really reinforces what I’ve been saying. : People shouldn’t be living on our subway system, they should be in a place where they’re taken care of, and this shouldn’t happen no matter where she lives.
Police detained Zapeta later that day while he was riding a train on the same subway line, and three high school students called 911 after recognizing him in a photo released by authorities.
The suspect faces one count of first-degree murder and other charges related to the shocking incident (FNTV)
Zapeta told investigators he had been drinking and had no idea what was going on. He did, however, identify himself in photos and surveillance footage 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 news conference that the full indictment against Zapeta will remain sealed until his trial on the new charges on January 7.
Gonzalez added that state charges have been filed to ensure that the “maximum sentence” is sought for this “heinous” crime.
Federal immigration officials said the Guatemalan citizen was deported in 2018 but later returned to the United States illegally.
Zapeta waived her right to court on Friday and will remain in custody at New York’s Rikers Island complex until her trial next month.
