Woman set on fire on train and burned to death identified
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A woman who was lit on fire and burned to death on a New York City subway car has been identified. The victim of the horrific crime was Debrina Kawam, 61, of Toms River, New Jersey, police said on Tuesday. She was believed to be homeless and was identified using DNA, fingerprint and dental records, officials said.
![[Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234191404-095e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Kawam was named nine days after the horrific incident on the F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn. Sebastian Zepeta, 33, an illegal immigrant, is accused of using a lighter to set Kawam, who was reportedly sleeping, on fire and then using a shirt to fan the flames.
![[MUZZED GRAB @Sasswatcher This guy allegedly threw a lit match on a woman who was sleeping on the NYC subway this morning and set her on fire. He then sat down on bench across from where she was located and watched her die. Tell me again why mass deportation is a bad idea.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234134406-c1ad.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=364)
In the days after the terrifying incident, authorities reportedly said the victim was burned so badly that it was difficult to identify her, and that she was not believed to be carrying an ID. CCTV footage appeared to show Zepeta watching the car ablaze as cops helplessly walked by.
![[A suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (WABC-TV via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234152466-f419.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘Lighting another human being on fire and watching them burn alive reflects a level of evil that cannot be tolerated,’ stated New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office last week. Authorities later said that the officers were not aware that the suspect was still at the scene.
Zepeta was arrested after transit officials stopped the train eight stops to the north at Herald Square in Manhattan. He has been charged with a count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and a count of first-degree arson. Zapeta is set to be arraigned on January 7. His indictment will be officially unsealed that day. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez last week called the charges ‘significant counts’.
