Woman burned to death in Brooklyn subway arson attack identified

Police say they have identified on Tuesday the woman who was burned to death aboard a Brooklyn F train in a shocking arson attack last week.

Debrina Kawam, 57, was so badly burned it took authorities several weeks to put a name to her body. Sources familiar with the investigation say that forensic investigators were able to identify Kawam through her fingerprints. Her last known address is listed as Toms River, NJ.

Law enforcement sources said Kawam appeared to be sleeping aboard the train at the Coney Island station, a well-known place of shelter for homeless individuals, when the suspected arsonist — identified as Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33 — allegedly set her ablaze using a lighter.

Sources familiar with the case said Zapeta-Calil appeared to be inebriated at the time of the attack. He was caught on video tape allegedly attempting to fan the flames after the woman was set ablaze.

“This gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will be met with the most serious consequences,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a Dec. 24 statement following Zapeta-Calil’s arraignment on charges of first and second-degree murder, and arson. He remains held in jail without bail, and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.

The grizzly fire death shocked the city, heightening many commuters’ sense of safety underground — even as the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams, citing official crime statistics, maintain the subways are safe.

The incident has also prompted the controversial return of the Guardian Angels, who have begun patrolling the subways following the killing — with the volunteer group’s founder, Curtis Sliwa, questioning the accuracy of public safety reports. 

“Stop with the nonsense of the analytics crime is down — what a joke,” Sliwa told amNewYork Metro. “We’re going to show the city and the state what they should be doing. And maybe we can shame them into action, shame them into doing something instead of just talking about it.”