NJ Homeless Woman ID’d as Victim in NYC Subway Fire Attack:  Details of Shocking Crime Unveiled

NJ Homeless Woman ID’d as Victim in NYC Subway Fire Attack:  Details of Shocking Crime Unveiled

Edited by: Fern Sidman

In a shocking and deeply disturbing tragedy reported by The New York Post, 61-year-old Debrina Kawam, a New Jersey resident, was brutally burned to death on a Brooklyn F train on December 22. The New York Police Department confirmed her identity this week, shedding light on the grim circumstances surrounding her final moments. The horrifying incident has raised urgent questions about public safety, the shelter system, and immigration enforcement failures.

According to the report that appeared on Tuesday in The New York Post Kawam was sleeping on the stationary train at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station around 7:30 a.m. when Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, an illegal Guatemalan immigrant, allegedly set her on fire. Video footage described by The New York Post captures the chilling moment when Zapeta-Calil fanned the flames engulfing Kawam and then calmly observed her burning body from a nearby bench on the platform.

The New York Post further reported that Kawam was described as homeless by the Coalition for the Homeless. She had been living in New York City shelters since at least September 9 and was assigned a bed at the Franklin Williams Women’s Shelter in the Bronx on November 30. However, she left the facility on December 2, leaving her vulnerable and without stable shelter.

Authorities struggled to identify her remains due to the severity of the burns, as detailed in The New York Post report. Ultimately, it was her fingerprints that confirmed her identity. Sources told The Post that Kawam was alive at the time she was set on fire, with a walker and several bags nearby—objects that symbolize the transient and challenging life she had been navigating.

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, the man charged with first- and second-degree murder and arson, is currently being held at Rikers Island without bail, according to The New York Post. Federal immigration authorities revealed to The Post that Zapeta-Calil first entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 but was deported less than a week later. Despite this, he managed to re-enter the country and eventually settled in New York City.

By March 2023, Zapeta-Calil had entered the city’s shelter system, where, according to The New York Post, his struggles with substance abuse became apparent. Shelter resident Raymond Robinson told The Post that Zapeta-Calil was addicted to the synthetic drug K2 and regularly drank Voda vodka, described as “the cheapest s–t there is.”

Robinson, who shared sleeping quarters with Zapeta-Calil, described him as a person who was mostly self-destructive when under the influence but not outwardly violent. “He would bug out and talk to himself when he was high, but never harmed nobody but himself,” Robinson told The New York Post.

These revelations paint a picture of a man struggling with severe addiction and mental health challenges, raising difficult questions about the efficacy of support systems for vulnerable individuals in shelters and whether red flags were missed that could have prevented this tragedy.

The New York Post report highlighted the repeated failures of both immigration authorities and local support systems to intervene effectively. Zapeta-Calil’s illegal re-entry into the U.S. and subsequent integration into the shelter system without meaningful oversight expose significant gaps in immigration enforcement and social service safeguards.

Meanwhile, Debrina Kawam’s tragic story underscores the vulnerability of those experiencing homelessness, particularly women who rely on shelters for safety and stability. As reported by The New York Post, Kawam was assigned shelter space but left, either by choice or circumstance, just weeks before her gruesome death.

This horrific case has reignited public debates about safety on public transit, the accountability of shelter systems, and immigration policy enforcement. The harrowing footage of the attack not only captures the brutal act itself but also symbolizes the broader societal failures that allowed such a tragedy to occur.

While the legal process against Zapeta-Calil moves forward, The New York Post emphasized that the root causes behind this incident—drug addiction, homelessness, and immigration enforcement failures—remain largely unaddressed.

The brutal killing of Debrina Kawam, as extensively reported by The New York Post, serves as a grim reminder of the human cost of systemic neglect. The details of her tragic death demand not only justice in the courtroom but also meaningful reforms in immigration policies, shelter system management, and addiction services.

Kawam’s death should not be reduced to just another headline. As The New York Post poignantly illustrated, it is a call to action—a demand that the lives of the most vulnerable in society be valued, protected, and safeguarded. The haunting image of her final moments should galvanize authorities and the public alike to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.