Say Her Name: Woman Set On Fire In New York City Subway Identified As 57-Year-Old Debrina Kawam

Posted • January 1, 2025: A little over a week ago, Americans were horrified by video out of the New York City subway system of a woman set on fire. The woman died, and her body was so badly burned it took authorities over a week to identify her. Now they have: The woman who was burned to death on a NYC subway by an alleged illegal immigrant, has been identified as a 61-year-old woman from New Jersey. The woman was so badly burned that it took police days to figure out who she was. She was finally identified as Debrina Kawam of Toms River township in New Jersey, according to Fox News. According to a Facebook profile that lines up with Kawam, she studied business and marketing at Montclair State University in 1991. The account also says Kawam was a former business and marketing manager at Lily Pharmacy.

🚨 Suspect accused of setting woman on fire watches the aftermath before police ask him to move: https://videos-cloudfront.jwpsrv.com/67756705_b4c2b369e8616cb8910fc0486b42ccf5b0b97949/content/conversions/XDErnc08/videos/YgLp4lk0-34195348.mp4 -- The straphanger who was burned to death on a Brooklyn train has been identified as a New Jersey woman, police announced Tuesday — more than a week after the horrific attack. The charred body of Debrina Kawam, 57, of Toms River, was ultimately ID’d through fingerprints, sources told The Post. Kawam, who was described as homeless, had slept on an F train in the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station on Dec. 22 when she was allegedly set on fire around 7:30 a.m. by illegal Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, who now faces first-degree murder charges. Horrifying video footage from the arson attack shows the accused killer fanning the flames as Kawam was consumed by the fire — and calmly watching the scorched victim from a bench on the platform.

There are conflicting reports about whether or not Kawam was homeless. A New Jersey man who bought Kawam's mother's house was visited by Kawam and said she didn't appear homeless. Either way, it's awful and she deserves justice. So tragic and disgusting. People stood by and watched…because of the Daniel Penny case. NYC absolutely slandered and villainized someone who stepped in, and now people will just stand by and watch an atrocity. Which is exactly what Alvin Bragg wanted to happen. NYC is not cooperating with ICE on a detainer for the illegal immigrant who set an American woman on fire and killed her in the subway. On Jan 20th, every single federal dollar needs to be pulled out of that city and they can run their own shithole. Our taxes shouldn’t be funding this insanity. Any city or state that doesn't cooperate with ICE should lose every penny of federal funding. Across the board. (…)

• More at: Twitchy - Say Her Name: Woman Set on Fire in NYC Subway Identified
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2024/12/31/new-york-subway-victim-identified-n2405954
New York Post: Cops identify NJ woman as mystery straphanger torched to death in horrific NYC subway attack
https://nypost.com/2024/12/31/us-news/mystery-woman-torched-to-death-in-horrific-nyc-subway-attack-finally-identified-by-cops-sources/