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Police in New York have identified a woman who died after being set on fire on a subway train in a random attack.
The 61-year-old victim has been named as Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey, who was sleeping on a subway train at Coney Island at 7.30am on Dec 22 when she was set alight and died from her injuries, according to the New York Police Department .
Footage of the incident showed her engulfed in flames while the alleged killer, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, stoked the fire with a shirt before watching from a bench on the platform as she burned.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, was arrested a few hours after the killing and is facing first-degree murder and arson charges.
He was arrested after police received a tip from a group of high-school students who recognised images of the suspect circulated by police.
“This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system,” Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said after the suspect’s indictment was announced.
Authorities previously said that they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim, after her injuries left her unrecognisable.
The suspect and victim are not believed to have known each other, law enforcement officials told The New York Times.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is facing first-degree murder and arson charges – Curtis Means/Pool Daily Mail
Ms Kawam was already on the F train when Mr Zapeta-Calil boarded, the outlet reported, and they both rode it to the end of the line at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station.
Eric Adams, the New York City mayor, said that Ms Kawam had a “brief stint in our homeless shelter system” and that authorities had been in contact with her next of kin.
Sources told the New York Post that the victim had been living in the city’s shelters since at least Sept 9 and had stayed at a shelter in the Bronx, in northern Manhattan, on Nov 30 but left on Dec 2.
“Hearts go out to the family, a horrific incident to have to live through,” Mr Adams said at a press briefing.
“It impacts on how New Yorkers feel. But it really reinforces what I’ve been saying: people should not be living on our subway system, they should be in a place of care. No matter where she lived, that should not have happened.”
Mr Zapeta-Calil is being held at Rikers Island without bail, and his indictment is expected to be unsealed on Jan 7. He is yet to enter a plea in the case.
When questioned about the incident by police, prosecutors say Mr Zapeta-Calil claimed not to know what had happened, noting that he consumes alcohol. However, he did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit, according to prosecutors.
Federal immigration officials told the New York Post that he was deported after spending a week in the US illegally in 2018, but later found his way back into the country.
He is reported to have spent time living in New York’s homeless shelters since March 2023.
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