The woman who was heinously burned alive in a New York City subway car last week has been identified as a 57-year-old woman.
Debrina Kawam, who resided in New Jersey, was identified after using fingerprint and dental information and DNA evidence.
The New York City Office of the Medical Examiner determined the woman died by homicide caused by thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
Sebastian Zapeta Calil, a 33-year-old undocumented migrant accused of killing Kawam, was indicted Friday on charges of first- and second-degree murder and arson.
Police say Zapeta-Calil calmly walked up to Kawam on Dec. 22, as she was sleeping on an F train approaching the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, and used a lighter to ignite her clothes and the blanket that was wrapped around her.
“Right around the holiday, to have to see the video and the images of a woman set on fire is very hard to deal with,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “This was a malicious deed, a sleeping vulnerable woman on our subway system. This was intentional and we intend to prove this in a court of law.”
Police took Zapeta into custody while he was riding a train on the same line later that day. Authorities say he claimed not to know what had happened but identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.
Federal immigration officials said he was deported in 2018 but returned to the U.S. illegally sometime after that.