NEW YORK (AP) — The woman who died after being set on fire A 57-year-old man from New Jersey was on a New York subway train earlier this month, New York City police announced Tuesday.
The woman, Debrina Kawam, was from Toms River, a township on the Jersey Shore, according to the NYPD. New York City Mayor Eric Adams added that Kawam had a “brief stint in our homeless shelter system,” but did not say when.
The man accused of setting her on fire on December 22, Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was taken into custody hours after police released images of a suspect in the shocking Sunday morning attack on a train stopped at Brooklyn’s Coney Island. He has done so ever since indicted for murder and arson.
Identifying the victim proved to be a challenge, and authorities said Friday they were still using forensics and video surveillance to track her down.
Adams said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday that he knew no more than Kawam’s name and New Jersey address, but said authorities had been in contact with her next of kin.
“Hearts go out to the family, a horrific incident to experience,” Adams said. “It affects how New Yorkers feel. But it really reinforces what I’ve been saying: People shouldn’t be living in our subway system, they should be in a healthcare facility. Wherever she lived, that shouldn’t have happened.”
Authorities have said they do not believe Kawam and Zapeta knew each other. Federal immigration officials say Zapeta is from Guatemala and entered the U.S. illegally. An address listed for him by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support.
Prosecutors allege that both Kawam and Zapeta were on the stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station when Zapeta approached a sleeping Kawam and set her clothing on fire. He then fanned the flames with a shirt, causing her to become engulfed in fire, before sitting on a platform bench and watching her burn, prosecutors said.
Kawam was pronounced dead at the scene.
Zapeta was arrested later that day after police circulated images of a suspect and received a tip from a group of high school students.
Zapeta has yet to enter a plea in the case and remains in jail. He did not attend a court hearing Friday where his charges were announced and his attorney declined to comment afterward.
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Prosecutor Ari Rottenberg said during the hearing that Zapeta told police he drinks a lot of liquor and doesn’t know what happened. However, he did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being set, Rottenberg said.
“This was a malicious act,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said after Friday’s hearing. ___ This story corrects Kawam’s age based on updated information from police. She was 57, not 61.