Woman Burned Alive on NYC Subway Was Toms River Resident, 61

NYC subway entrance. (Credit: Shane Adams/ ishane/ Flickr Creative Commons)

The woman whose gruesome murder on a New York City subway sparked national shock and outrage over illegal immigration has been identified as a 61-year-old Toms River woman.

Police on New Year’s Eve announced that the victim who was burned alive on an F train in Brooklyn has been identified as Debrina Kawam, 61, of Toms River. The attack occurred Dec. 22, but authorities in New York said it took longer than usual to identify the victim because of the extent of her burns.

The suspect in the attack, which occurred while Kawam was sleeping on a moving subway car, was identified as Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who had been deported back to his home country of Guatemala in 2018, illegally re-entered the country at a later point in time. Zapeta is alleged to have used a cigarette lighter to spark a fire on the woman’s clothing, which quickly engulfed her. H⁠⁠e has been indicted on a single count of first degree murder, three counts of murder in the second degree and one count of arson. New York City has thus far declined to enforce a detainer issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to its sanctuary city policy.

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Police said they used a combination of forensic science and video surveillance to identify Kawam, who reportedly has family in North Jersey. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Kawam had previously spent time within the city’s homeless shelter system and that authorities had notified her family. The news began circulating locally at the Jersey Shore shortly after the announcement, prompting a response from Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick.

Not sure if you’re writing the story about this poor woman from Toms River being burned alive, but if you are, see below:

“The state[s] of New York and New Jersey need to bring back the death penalty,” he said. “We should at least be able to exercise the death penalty for those who are caught on video committing these heinous murders. People convicted of these types of crimes should be put down like rabid dogs.”

Zapeta is facing a sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of first degree murder under New York state statutes.