Authorities in New York City have named 57-year-old New Jersey resident Debrina Kawam as the victim of a terrible crime on December 22, whose body charred beyond identification. Alarms over subway safety were raised after the random act of violence happened on a stalled subway train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station.
During a news conference, a medical examiner’s office spokesman verified the victim’s identification. “The medical examiner confirmed the identity yesterday using fingerprint analysis, following a multi-agency effort with our law enforcement counterparts,” the spokesman said.
Authorities said it took more than one week to locate Ms. Kawam’s body. The cause of death was decided to be a homicide, ascribed to “thermal and inhalational injuries.”
The charges the suspect faces?
Indicted on four charges of murder and one count of arson by a grand jury, Sebastian Zapeta, 33, has Prosecutors say Mr. Zapeta, who claims not to remember the incident, started the fire with a lighter while Ms. Kawam was sleeping aboard the train. He fanned the flames using a shirt and watched the fire expand from a bench on the platform. This aggressive crime has brought more focus to problems with metro security.
Prosecutors said at a preliminary hearing that the suspect—identified as a Guatemalan national—admitted to being drunk during the incident. Scheduled to appear in court once more on January 7, Mr. Zapeta was deported from the United States in 2018 but subsequently re-entered the nation illegally.
Regarding the incident, what are officials saying?
During a press conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke on the tragedy, tying it back to more general problems with homelessness in the city and how it affected subway safety.
“People should be in a place of care, not live on our subway system; this supports what I have been saying,” Mayor Adams remarked. “And that should not have happened regardless of her residence.”
Brooklyn’s district attorney stressed the need to identify Ms. Kawam to inform her family quickly. “It’s a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman so we may notify her family,” the district attorney said.
How did the community respond, and how did misinformation spread?
False material, including an artificial intelligence-generated victim image, spread online following the incident. However, community support came in; Ms. Kawam was honored with a vigil before being formally identified.
Why is the attack described as "depraved"?
The incident was characterized by the New York City Police Commissioner as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could commit against another human being.”
Authorities said the smell of smoke attracted Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) staff and police to the location. “Unbeknownst to the cops who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,” the police commissioner said. At the spot, Ms. Kawam was certified dead.
This incident draws attention to the growing worries about violent crime on the metro; many people are now advocating more forceful policies to guarantee subway safety.
What wider consequences follow for subway safety?
Although this incident is striking in its savagery, it fits a worrying trend that makes subway users more anxious. Though crime rates in New York City’s subway system have dropped generally, some violent events still cause concern about subway safety.
Another subway-related incident happened that same day at the press conference when a man was shoved into the rails in Chelsea, Manhattan. The victim—who suffered a head injury—was hospitalized; subsequently, police have arrested a suspect.
These incidents highlight how urgently safety issues for millions of everyday commuters must be addressed. Mayor Adams said, “Everyone deserves to feel safe, whether riding the subway or walking our streets.” Given the rise in violent crime, the need for more attention on subway safety becomes more urgent than ever.
