Victim Of Subway Burning Identified As NJ Woman. Here’s What We Know
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a subway train, appears in court in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. The New York Police Department released information Tuesday about the woman who died in a subway car in December after reportedly being set on fire, further debunking false information and political narratives that spread online about the victim. Key Facts Police officials say that on Dec. 22, a man set fire to a sleeping woman, now identified as Debrina Kawam, in a stopped subway car, leading to Kawam’s death and the subsequent arrest and charging of undocumented immigrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil for murder and arson. Little was shared about the victim, although multiple reports referred to her as a homeless woman, until Tuesday, when police officials and Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the victim was 57-year-old Kawam, a resident of Toms River township in New Jersey, the Associated Press reported . Video from c...