Police identify woman set on fire in deadly New York City attack

Police in New York City have named the woman who was set on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn.

Authorities on Tuesday identified Debrina Kawam, 61, of New Jersey as the victim of the seemingly random 22 December attack that burned her body beyond recognition.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, is accused of starting the blaze with a lighter while Ms Kawam was asleep. He allegedly fanned the flames with a shirt and then watched the fire grow from a bench outside the subway car.

Last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Zapeta, who claims to have no memory of the incident, on four counts of murder and one count of arson.

It took authorities more than a week to fully identify the body.

Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said at a press conference early in the investigation that authorities had worked to collect DNA evidence and fingerprints from Ms Kawam’s remains.

“It’s a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman, so we can notify her family,” Mr Gonzalez said.

False and unverified information about her, including a fake AI-generated picture, circulated online as authorities worked.

There was also an outpouring of support, including a vigil held for the then-unidentified victim last week.

Police say that Ms Kawam was motionless, apparently asleep, on a stationary subway train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn early on 22 December when Mr Zapeta allegedly approached her with a lighter.

The pair never interacted, and police believe they did not know each other.

Video appears to show the suspect waving a shirt at her in an apparent effort to fan the flames, rather than douse them. He then exits the subway car and watches the blaze from a bench on the platform.

Jessica Tisch, New York police commissioner, said that the smell of smoke drew police officers and Metropolitian Transit Authority personnel to the fire where they extinguished the flames.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,” Ms Tisch said.

Authorities declared Ms Kawam dead at the scene.

Ms Tisch described the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.

In a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, prosecutor Ari Rottenberg said Mr Zapeta told investigators that he had been drinking and did not remember the incident, but did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.

Mr Zapeta, who is originally from Guatemala, was deported from the US in 2018 and later re-entered the country illegally, immigration authorities said.

He is due back in court on 7 January, prosecutors said.

By BBC News