Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Police identify woman who was fatally set on fire on NYC subway
By
Catalina Gonella
and
David Brand
Published Dec 31, 2024
Modified Jan 2, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
By
Catalina Gonella
and
David Brand
Published Dec 31, 2024
Modified Jan 2, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Police have identified the woman who was fatally set on fire on an F train in Brooklyn earlier this month as 57-year-old Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey.
According to the NYPD, Kawam was sleeping on the train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station early on the morning of Dec. 22 when 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta walked up to her and set her clothes on fire using what police believe was a lighter. She was pronounced dead at the scene. NYPD officers arrested Zapeta later that day on the subway in Manhattan, following a tip from members of the public who police said recognized him from surveillance footage the department had released. Authorities have said they do not believe Kawam and Zapeta knew each other before the incident.
The city medical examiner's office identified Kawam through a fingerprint analysis, spokesperson Julie Bolcer said. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez last week said investigators were using "advanced fingerprinting efforts" and DNA evidence to investigate her identity because her body was so badly burned.
Mayor Eric Adams said at a briefing with reporters on Tuesday that Kawam had a "brief stint" in the city's shelter system.
"People should not be living in our subway system. They should be in a place of care," Adams said. "And no matter where she lived, that should not have happened."
Police notified Kawam's family on Monday after medical examiners confirmed her identity, according to Bolcer.
Three of Kawam’s relatives declined to talk about her when reached by phone on Tuesday afternoon. An aunt named Georgette Braga said only that she had “had no contact with [Kawam] in many, many years.”
Kawam graduated in 1985 from Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, New Jersey, where she went by Deb or Debbie, participated in cheerleading and aspired to be an “airline stewardess,” according to her yearbook bio. Classmates named her and five other students “Most Punk” that year.
Kawam worked at the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Merck from some time in the late 1990s until 2002, according to a company spokesperson. On her Facebook page, Kawam said she attended Montclair State University but Andrew Mees, a school spokesperson, said the university had no record of her attending.
Property and court records suggest she faced financial difficulties in recent years, declaring bankruptcy in 2008, defaulting on her mortgage at a home in Little Falls, New Jersey in 2010 and facing a lawsuit from a debt collection agency in 2016.
Police gave Kawam’s last known address as a home in Toms River, New Jersey that was previously owned by her mother but sold in April of this year.
The current owner, Olga Corpion, told Gothamist that she met Kawam for no more than 15 minutes in May. Kawam arrived at the house still thinking her mother lived there, Corpion said.
“She was dressed nicely,” Corpion said. “She came to my door and I invited her in because she said, ‘I’m looking for my mother.’”
Corpion said she had never met the previous owner but suggested Kawam leave her phone number. Kawam said she didn’t have a phone, Corpion recalled.
“All I can say is ‘I’m sorry,’” Corpion told Gothamist. “I feel terrible that that’s the way her life ended up.”
Zapeta was indicted last week on charges of murder in the first and second degrees, as well as arson. Police said he was recently living in East New York at an address on Forbell Avenue that is associated with a substance abuse treatment facility. He is a Guatemalan citizen who came to the United States illegally, was deported in 2018 and returned sometime thereafter, according to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Zapeta told police he drank heavily and did not "know what happened" during the incident, a prosecutor said at his court arraignment. He faces the possibility of life without parole if convicted of the most serious charge, and is due back in court in January.
This story has been updated to reflect Montclair State University's response that it had no record of Kawam attending the school. Samantha Max contributed reporting.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
transportation
brooklyn
Catalina Gonella
Read more
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Legionella found in Staten Island building's water system after 2 positive cases
Residents say several people living there are members of vulnerable populations.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 1:38 p.m. ET
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
In theory, New York's gubernatorial candidates can accept donations of up to $9,000. In practice, it’s way higher.
By
Jon Campbell
News
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
In theory, New York's gubernatorial candidates can accept donations of up to $9,000. In practice, it’s way higher.
By
Jon Campbell
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
By
Ben Feuerherd
NYC’s autumn foliage will be a fall feast this year
By
Rosemary Misdary
NY officials worry migrants will skip healthcare amid fed policy change
By
Caroline Lewis
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .