NEW YORK (AP) — New York Police announced Tuesday they’ve identified the woman who died on Dec. 22 after being set on fire while inside a New York subway train as a 61-year-old from New Jersey.
The woman, Debrina Kawam, had a Toms River, New Jersey, address, according to NYPD.
Authorities previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim, who burned to death on a subway car in Brooklyn. The man accused of lighting her on fire, Sebastian Zapeta, was taken into custody hours after police disseminated images of a suspect.
He’s since been indicted on murder and arson charges. Zapeta remains jailed. Federal immigration officials say the 33-year-old is from Guatemala and entered the U.S. illegally.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said 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.
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“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.”