NY - Female passenger died after being set on fire by man on subway - NYC - December 22, 2024

[Teignmouth 22]

Cops identify NJ woman as mystery straphanger torched to death in horrific NYC subway attack

The victim in the horrific Dec. 22 caught-on-video arson attack had been so badly scorched that authorities initially struggled to identify her.

nypost.com

From the stills at this link, it looked like the victim stood there or walked forward a few steps.
Surprised she didn't do the whole 'drop & roll' motions to try to extinguish the flames.
Maybe in shock and too much pain to do anything ?
What a horrifying and gruesome death.

Hope they throw the book at the perp.
Imo.

Woman fatally set on fire in NYC subway identified by police as 57-year-old from New Jersey

The victim's name is Debrina Kawam and she is from Toms River, New Jersey, according to the New York Police Department.

www.nbcnews.com

Rest in gentle peace, Debrina !!
I am so sorry you met this fate.

Yes. I checked newspapers.com and found a notice appearing to relate to this lady, the date of birth recorded ties in with age 57 as per your second linked report.

Nov 26, 2003, page 62 - The Herald-News at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from The Herald-News dated Nov 26, 2003, page 62.

www.newspapers.com

I'm so glad she has got her name back and is going home, but I am so sad she met such a terrible end. My condolences to her family.

R.I.P. Debrina.

 

[iamshadow21]

Cops identify NJ woman as mystery straphanger torched to death in horrific NYC subway attack

The victim in the horrific Dec. 22 caught-on-video arson attack had been so badly scorched that authorities initially struggled to identify her.

nypost.com

From the stills at this link, it looked like the victim stood there or walked forward a few steps.
Surprised she didn't do the whole 'drop & roll' motions to try to extinguish the flames.
Maybe in shock and too much pain to do anything ?
What a horrifying and gruesome death.

Hope they throw the book at the perp.
Imo.

Woman fatally set on fire in NYC subway identified by police as 57-year-old from New Jersey

The victim's name is Debrina Kawam and she is from Toms River, New Jersey, according to the New York Police Department.

www.nbcnews.com

Rest in gentle peace, Debrina !!
I am so sorry you met this fate.

She woke up on fire. She was possibly intoxicated, and she had difficulty moving at the best of times.

People in extreme pain and distress often don't have the ability to coolly decide something like that.

When I almost lit myself on fire, I was lucky that my body did the right thing.

In science class, when I was fifteen, I put the tube for the Bunsen burner on one tap and turned on the other. Then I tried to light it. A fraction of a second before the air caught fire, I realised my mistake.

The next moment, I wasn't sat on the stool at the desk directly in front of the burner any more. I was on my back on the linoleum floor. I saw the flame jetting out over the edge of my desk, probably two feet from the naked tap. The next moment, the flame was out and my teacher was at my side. She was only about eight feet from me to begin with, and she had hit the main supply cutoff and got to me.

Somehow, in that missing moment, I had turned my face away, dropped my body to the floor, and ended up on my back. The end of my long ponytail was singed, and I had a corresponding minor burn right at the base of my throat where the burning hair had hit my skin when it whipped around. I went into shock, but was otherwise fine.

What I did wasn't a choice. It was the only way to get off my tucked in stool and out of the range of the fire I knew was coming. But I didn't think, I must get off the stool and on the floor, it just happened. I have zero memory of the time between realising my error and lying on the floor.

Debrina didn't have the flash of awareness I had that fire was coming. She woke up already engulfed in flame, with a body already severely damaged. Whatever was able to pass through her mind in those few moments, I doubt stop drop and roll was part of it. I imagine it was primal deep thoughts, like pain, why, escape. And standing at all was the last conscious movement she was capable of to try and remove herself from the thing that was killing her.

MOO

 

[ilovewings]

If I had my way, the perp would die the same way as he caused the death of another.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

View attachment 554784

I believe this is her from a Passaic, NJ high school yearbook from 1985.

From the FB account, it looks like she had a lot of FB friends who were in bands, musicians etc. It's somewhat consoling to have an idea of her as a person.

 

[Mellowmelly]

Well, if she was an alcoholic, that kind of addiction doesn't discriminate, and there are probably just as many working class folks who dropped out at sixteen as people with BAs at AA meetings.

Rough sleepers all came from somewhere, they all have a past. We're all one disaster away from the streets. That isn't a comfortable thing, but it's the truth.

MOO

Exactly this, it shows that rough times and homelessness can affect anyone. As can mental health and addictions, not to say that Debrina had any of these ailments. RIP beautiful Debrina

 

[Mellowmelly]

I found an obituary while googling Debrina Kawam. It appears to be her fathers obituary and names his children, including Debrina. She appears to have had a sister and brother. The obituary mentions that her father was an American airforce veteran. Small consolation but she is now reunited with her father.

 

[Chimera]

She woke up on fire. She was possibly intoxicated, and she had difficulty moving at the best of times.

People in extreme pain and distress often don't have the ability to coolly decide something like that.

When I almost lit myself on fire, I was lucky that my body did the right thing.

In science class, when I was fifteen, I put the tube for the Bunsen burner on one tap and turned on the other. Then I tried to light it. A fraction of a second before the air caught fire, I realised my mistake.

The next moment, I wasn't sat on the stool at the desk directly in front of the burner any more. I was on my back on the linoleum floor. I saw the flame jetting out over the edge of my desk, probably two feet from the naked tap. The next moment, the flame was out and my teacher was at my side. She was only about eight feet from me to begin with, and she had hit the main supply cutoff and got to me.

Somehow, in that missing moment, I had turned my face away, dropped my body to the floor, and ended up on my back. The end of my long ponytail was singed, and I had a corresponding minor burn right at the base of my throat where the burning hair had hit my skin when it whipped around. I went into shock, but was otherwise fine.

What I did wasn't a choice. It was the only way to get off my tucked in stool and out of the range of the fire I knew was coming. But I didn't think, I must get off the stool and on the floor, it just happened. I have zero memory of the time between realising my error and lying on the floor.

Debrina didn't have the flash of awareness I had that fire was coming. She woke up already engulfed in flame, with a body already severely damaged. Whatever was able to pass through her mind in those few moments, I doubt stop drop and roll was part of it. I imagine it was primal deep thoughts, like pain, why, escape. And standing at all was the last conscious movement she was capable of to try and remove herself from the thing that was killing her.

MOO

I went back and edited my post, and I don't think anyone on fire could coolly react ; so I meant no disrespect.

This crime is unbelievably evil and may have been premeditated if the perp thought for a while before he set her on fire ?
Add premeditation to the charges, and a possible ethnic motive as the poor victim was Caucasian ?
Curious if he has committed crimes elsewhere or in his place of origin ?
Imo.
Justice for Debrina !!

 

[Chimera]

Cops identify NJ woman as mystery straphanger torched to death in horrific NYC subway attack

The victim in the horrific Dec. 22 caught-on-video arson attack had been so badly scorched that authorities initially struggled to identify her.

nypost.com

He smoked K2, drank and bugged out,” said shelter resident Raymond Robinson, who slept on a cot at the facility next to Zapeta-Calil until his arrest.
“He would bug out and talk to himself when he was high, but never harmed nobody but himself,” Robinson said. “That’s why this (bleeped) my head up because I slept next to him and he was never like that. I wouldn’t leave my daughter with anybody but he was the type of dude I could trust.

“As long as he wasn’t high,” he added.

Robinson said Zapeta-Calil liked to drink Voda vodka, “the cheapest there is.”
Rbm.

No matter how harmless-seeming, once a person shows what they're capable of .... Smh.

Glad the pal at the shelter didn't leave his daughter with ZC.
About the K2 and the vodka, those items aren't cheap.
Where was he getting the $$ for that ?
I haven't read anywhere that the perp was gainfully employed.
Imo.

Edited to add : I personally wouldn't know if K2 is cheap or not, just a guess.
It's possible LE might know, having dealt with those in the know ?
Having followed cases here and elsewhere, robberies do happen by those looking for items like money and electronics/whatever with which to buy their fix.
Omo.

 

[Mellowmelly]

I went back and edited my post, and I don't think anyone on fire could coolly react ; so I meant no disrespect.
This crime is unbelievably evil and may have been premeditated if the perp thought for a while before he set her on fire ?
Add premeditation to the charges, and a possible ethnic motive as the poor victim was Caucasian ?
Curious if he has committed crimes elsewhere or in his place of origin ?
Imo.
Justice for Debrina !!

IMO I beleive it was premeditated, he had to have the thought in his head beforehand to approach her and then light her on fire. He also had to know that by his actions, it would cause serious harm or death. I don't buy his excuse that he was intoxicated either. I'm also curious as to his past because IMO, you don't suddenly wake up one day and decide to randomly set another person on fire.

 

[sunflowermomma]

IMO I beleive it was premeditated, he had to have the thought in his head beforehand to approach her and then light her on fire. He also had to know that by his actions, it would cause serious harm or death. I don't buy his excuse that he was intoxicated either. I'm also curious as to his past because IMO, you don't suddenly wake up one day and decide to randomly set another person on fire.

Also, standing there and fanning the flames with a t-shirt. If you are so intoxicated and out of control that you light someone on fire then how do you have the dexterity/faculties to know to fan the flames? MOO.

 

[jjenny]

Exactly this, it shows that rough times and homelessness can affect anyone. As can mental health and addictions, not to say that Debrina had any of these ailments. RIP beautiful Debrina

<modsnip> It's very sad, considering it appears she graduated from the University and had a job for a while after graduation.

Victim of Coney Island Subway Immolation Is Identified by the Police

Debrina Kawam of Toms River, N.J., was burned alive on Dec. 22 in a videotaped killing that shocked New York.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Ray_of_hope]

So they were able to identify her through fingerprints.

Now she can have a proper burial and those who knew her can pay their respects. So glad to see this.

She worked at Lilly in Business Marketing after studying at Montclair State University and was 57 years old. Age corrected in New York Times.

Victim of Coney Island Subway Immolation Is Identified by the Police

Debrina Kawam of Toms River, N.J., was burned alive on Dec. 22 in a videotaped killing that shocked New York.

www.nytimes.com

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

I went back and edited my post, and I don't think anyone on fire could coolly react ; so I meant no disrespect.

This crime is unbelievably evil and may have been premeditated if the perp thought for a while before he set her on fire ?
Add premeditation to the charges, and a possible ethnic motive as the poor victim was Caucasian ?
Curious if he has committed crimes elsewhere or in his place of origin ?
Imo.
Justice for Debrina !!

Thank you @Chimera - I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment. This is so tragic and just unforgivable. And yes, premeditation seems evident. And IIUC for the jailed suspect to have apparently watched his victim engulfed in flames and even seems to have ‘fanned’ or waved a towel to possibly enhance the flame…….. SMH.

I also wonder if there would be any federal or state charge elements relating to a possible hate crime? The victim appears to have been elderly and might have been physically limited as well? I also wonder her ethnicity. And whether that could affect charges. IANAL. MOO

 

[Charlot123]

RIP, Debrina Kawam. I hope that you killer will get full justice. My condolences to the people who loved Debrina. Huge thanks and respect to the specialists involved in her identification.

 

[acutename]

It just occurred to me- there is a Latin Amer tradition of burning a fake person- the "old year"

At midnight, effigies of the old year (also called “Año Viejo”) are set alight. These figures, made from worn clothing and banana leaves, burn away the past.1 day ago

From Burning Dolls to Eating Grapes, Here are Some of the ...​

BELatina
https://belatina.com › Our Cultura


If this perpetrator was drunk, did he think he was burning an effigy, not a real person?
(no disrespect to the victim and I have been trying to undersand why some one would do this...so cruel)

 

[airportwoman]

View attachment 554784

I believe this is her from a Passaic, NJ high school yearbook from 1985.

The "secret ambition" says a lot, although that isn't unusual for teenagers to say this. She's also quite a bit older than initially suspected.

Now, to go back and find out more.

 

[jjenny]

The "secret ambition" says a lot, although that isn't unusual for teenagers to say this. She's also quite a bit older than initially suspected.

Now, to go back and find out more.

Her age range was given from 30 to 60 and she was 57. So she was not older than initially suspected.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

More about our victim. I just felt moved to know more about her. She was once a beautiful young woman with hopes and dreams. It looks like she studied from 1986 to 1991 for a business degree. She lived with her mother in NJ, according to linked article, for a time and they walked their neighborhood often. Eventually she made her way to NY and was homeless. Perhaps her mom passed away.

"On a condolence page for her father, William T. Kawam, a retired assembly line worker at General Motors in Linden and an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War who died in 2009, Debrina Kawam wrote, "What is a father? Well let me tell you what a wonderful man my father was. He was truthful, honest, hardworking and the best father a daughter could have. I will always regret that it took me later in life to figure that out."

Ocean County woman identified as victim burned to death on NYC subway

Debrina Kawam, 57, died at the scene of the Dec. 22 fire.

www.app.com

 

[sunflowermomma]

More about our victim. I just felt moved to know more about her. She was once a beautiful young woman with hopes and dreams. It looks like she studied from 1986 to 1991 for a business degree. She lived with her mother in NJ, according to linked article, for a time and they walked their neighborhood often. Eventually she made her way to NY and was homeless. Perhaps her mom passed away.

"On a condolence page for her father, William T. Kawam, a retired assembly line worker at General Motors in Linden and an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War who died in 2009, Debrina Kawam wrote, "What is a father? Well let me tell you what a wonderful man my father was. He was truthful, honest, hardworking and the best father a daughter could have. I will always regret that it took me later in life to figure that out."

Ocean County woman identified as victim burned to death on NYC subway

Debrina Kawam, 57, died at the scene of the Dec. 22 fire.

www.app.com

Thank you for sharing this - after several days unidentified and so much media coverage and as a current resident of Brooklyn, it feels very meaningful to learn more about Debrina.

 

[Teignmouth 22]

More about our victim. I just felt moved to know more about her. She was once a beautiful young woman with hopes and dreams. It looks like she studied from 1986 to 1991 for a business degree. She lived with her mother in NJ, according to linked article, for a time and they walked their neighborhood often. Eventually she made her way to NY and was homeless. Perhaps her mom passed away.

"On a condolence page for her father, William T. Kawam, a retired assembly line worker at General Motors in Linden and an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War who died in 2009, Debrina Kawam wrote, "What is a father? Well let me tell you what a wonderful man my father was. He was truthful, honest, hardworking and the best father a daughter could have. I will always regret that it took me later in life to figure that out."

Ocean County woman identified as victim burned to death on NYC subway

Debrina Kawam, 57, died at the scene of the Dec. 22 fire.

www.app.com

Same here. It's good to see her as a person and not just the victim of a shocking crime.

Here's her birth announcement; at the time she had two older siblings.

Debra Ann

Clipping found in The News published in Paterson, New Jersey on 5/13/1967. Debra Ann

www.newspapers.com

From very tentative and limited research, IMO she was married at one time.