Authorities have released the identity of the sleeping woman burned to death inside a New York City subway train by a man who allegedly lit her on fire and stayed to watch the aftermath, officials said Tuesday.

Officials identified the woman who was burned to death inside a New York City subway train on Dec. 22 as 57-year-old Debrina Kawam.

A 57-year-old New Jersey woman has been identified as the woman who was set on fire and burned to death on a New York City subway car. Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey, was sleeping inside a train car at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn on December 22 when the horrific incident occurred.

The New York City Police Department identified the sleeping woman a man set on fire while aboard the subway last week. Debrina Kawam, 57, had recently moved to New York City from Toms River, a township on the Jersey Shore. She had a “brief stint” in the city’s homeless shelter system, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The woman who was set on fire on the NYC subway has been identified as Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey, police say.

The woman burned to death on an F train in Brooklyn has been identified as a 57-year-old resident of Toms River, NJ. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, is accused of setting the woman on fire while she was sleeping on an F train on Dec. 22. Zapeta-Calil faces multiple counts of murder and arson.

In December 2024, a woman was brutally set on fire in a New York City subway. She has now been identified as 57-year-old Toms River, New Jersey, resident Debrina Kawam. As the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams spoke to the press, they explained more details about the terrifying crime.