The woman died after having fire He was identified on a New York City subway train this month, according to police.
The woman was identified as 61-year-old Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey, according to the New York Police Department.
Kawam was sleeping on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn when he was set on fire by a 33-year-old Guatemalan national who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally, according to police.
Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting fire to a woman inside a subway train in New York, appeared before the judge on December 24, 2024, in New York.
Curtis Means/AP
The suspect, Sebastian Zapeta, has been charged with first and second degree murder and first degree arson, according to police. He has not entered any allegations yet.
“The depravity of this horrific crime is beyond comprehension, and my office is committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement released shortly after the murder. “This horrific and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will have the most serious consequences.”
A man wanted by the NYPD for questioning in connection with the death of a woman who was set on fire while sleeping on a stationary subway train is seen in a still image from surveillance video, Dec. 22, 2024, in Berria. York.
NYPD via Reuters
The horrific incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 22 when Kawam, who was believed to be homeless, was sleeping on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn, according to police.
The suspect allegedly “approached the victim and lit him on fire” with a lighter, police said.
Nearby police officers smelled smoke and went to the train to investigate, where they found the woman standing inside the car, “completely engulfed in flames.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Images of the suspect were captured on the officers’ body cameras, as the person remained at the scene after the incident, sitting on a nearby bench.
The images were released as police asked for the public’s help in identifying the man who fled the train.
Three high school students recognized him and contacted the police.
The suspect was arrested on a subway car in Herald Square a few hours after the incident, according to police. When he was caught, the suspect had a lighter in his pocket.
Zapeta is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, according to a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was originally brought from the US to Guatemala in June 2018 after being encountered by US Border Patrol in Sonoita, Arizona, the spokesman said. He illegally re-entered the U.S. at an unknown time and place, the spokesman said.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations will place an immigration hold at the NYPD location where Zapeta is being held, an agency spokeswoman said.
