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

[Teignmouth 22]

My hope is that perhaps LE is able to obtain CCTV footage that depict a clear image of the victim long before her horrific murder, perhaps of one recording her walk on the streets above as she headed to the train station or while she passed the turnstiles, and are able to use that to ask around and find a friend, family member, former roommate, a DHS or social worker or caseworker, or an administrator or supervisor at a popular or well known or used homeless shelter, soup kitchen, pantry or community outreach organization who recognize and can identify her.
...

I do think this is the best hope of identifying this poor lady. I really hope someone is missing her and they can identify her by this method. IIUC she was using a walking frame, if she was indeed homeless and used it to hang her belongings from she was probably a familiar sight in her chosen neighbourhood if she had one. I say that living in a town of 15,000 people where someone like that would definitely be noticed, and we are talking about New York of course; but hopefully she was known to someone.

I have no words for the person responsible only that I hope he is locked up forever and once he is there he can disappear from the face of the earth and be forgotten - unlike his poor victim who deserves to be remembered.

Just one other thought, there was a man who died in the Kings Cross Underground Station fire of November 1987 here in the UK who was unidentified, one of 31 who were killed - may they all rest in peace. He was very badly burned but they did manage to identify him 16 years later; his name was Alexander Fallon and if you google his name there is quite a lot of info about it.

So I hope that one day - sooner rather than later - this lady does get her name back.

R.I.P.

 

[Sundog]

If they have her DNA, that doesn't mean they can identify her. They would need to match the DNA they collected to something on file. And if she has no criminal record her DNA would not be on file.

If all else fails, they will eventually try genealogical research and hope to get a hit on a relative. I posted up-thread about the unit in the Medical Examiner's Office in NYC whose mission it is to determine the identity of all the unknown and unclaimed bodies that are brought to the office, even if it takes years. They are very dedicated from what I read in the NYT article on their work.

 

[Charlot123]

If all else fails, they will eventually try genealogical research and hope to get a hit on a relative. I posted up-thread about the unit in the Medical Examiner's Office in NYC whose mission it is to determine the identity of all the unknown and unclaimed bodies that are brought to the office, even if it takes years. They are very dedicated from what I read in the NYT article on their work.

Horrible to say, but the bones should be untouched. I guess everyone feels the same. Sheer horror.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

If all else fails, they will eventually try genealogical research and hope to get a hit on a relative. I posted up-thread about the unit in the Medical Examiner's Office in NYC whose mission it is to determine the identity of all the unknown and unclaimed bodies that are brought to the office, even if it takes years. They are very dedicated from what I read in the NYT article on their work.

Yes @Sundog …. And so very sad, and at this time of year. I think some of that identification work also is related to the aftermath of the World Trade Center Twin Tower’s post 9/11/2001. MOO

 

[Sweeper2000]

I purposely haven't watched any video of the fire but today while I was scrolling on FB, a video automatically played and I saw the woman standing and on fire. It was so disturbing, looked like a mannequin on fire. I wish I hadn't seen it. So she was able to stand up before being completely consumed by flames? How was she able to stand for so long while on fire?

You sure you want to know? I will say its not voluntary. She would have fallen over but she was gripping the pole. Its a small mercy but she may not have felt anything after a while. "Shudders".

 

[KooshBall]

You sure you want to know? I will say its not voluntary. She would have fallen over but she was gripping the pole. Its a small mercy but she may not have felt anything after a while. "Shudders".

I guess what is really bothering me about seeing her standing, is that it means she knew she was on fire. When it was said she was lying down when set on fire, I had the hope that she was passed out and not even conscious of of what happened. Not only did she stand up, but she was able to grab onto a bar, meaning she probably knew she was on fire, so horrifying. MOO

 

[Charlot123]

I guess what is really bothering me about seeing her standing, is that it means she knew she was on fire. When it was said she was lying down when set on fire, I had the hope that she was passed out and not even conscious of of what happened. Not only did she stand up, but she was able to grab onto a bar, meaning she probably knew she was on fire, so horrifying. MOO

I am not a specialist in fire trauma but I wonder if she grabbed at the bar, and the fire spread rapidly, there were contractures?

I didn’t see the video, thank god. I am not on FB that much. I am so sorry that you saw it.

 

[Sweeper2000]

I guess what is really bothering me about seeing her standing, is that it means she knew she was on fire. When it was said she was lying down when set on fire, I had the hope that she was passed out and not even conscious of of what happened. Not only did she stand up, but she was able to grab onto a bar, meaning she probably knew she was on fire, so horrifying. MOO

She knew more or less straight away. Yeh it's absolutely ******* horrific. I couldn't say if she was inebriated or not but I would guess just a homeless mh sufferer who was asleep on the train as its warm and maybe safer than the streets. Really really grim but stuff like that happens way too often. Not the first time this has happened I assure you. Not often to death though, many maybe even most or even all homeless people deal with stuff like this more often than you would like to know. People wake them up by urinating on them or kicking them etc which is very common indeed.

 

[Sweeper2000]

Google "homeless set on fire", lots of stories.

Homeless at Christmas - people beaten, robbed and have belongings set on fire

A survey by the charity Crisis has found that a shocking nine out of 10 homeless people have endured physical or verbal abuse

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

The guy fanning her was the guy who set her on fire.

I thought it seemed counter-productive.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Dude fanning her with something was the suspect. And fanning her isn't going to do anything good, it is only going to fan the flames. Fanning the fire provides it with more oxygen, it's not going to be helpful, it will only make the fire worse. Realistically, if people who don't know what they are supposed to be doing tried to help, it could make the situation even worse. Such as making the fire worse, spreading it around, or getting injured themsleves.

I thought the guy was just really stupid. This seems more plausible.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

New York City subway trains and stations do not have passenger-accessible fire extinguishers. Given the number of cretins who live here, "within a New York minute" extinguishers would be stolen, vandalized, or used in the commission of other crimes -e.g., spraying people in the face "for fun." That may sound harsh, but it's the truth.

Sounds about right. Maybe it was just a lever I remember. I haven't taken the subway in years so my memory's fuzzy.

 

[Deleted member 350315]

Sounds about right. Maybe it was just a lever I remember. I haven't taken the subway in years so my memory's fuzzy.

You're probably thinking of the emergency brakes, which are in every single car of every subway train, as well as in each train's operator and conductor cabs. Their presence is required by federal law, but unfortunately their activation by vandals and "pranksters" is a huge problem in NYC; can you imagine what would happen if fire extinguishers were freely available?

Emergency Brakes Misused by Vandals, Says MTA Chief

MTA chief says vandals cause most subway emergency brake pulls. Learn about the issues and solutions for improving subway safety and preventing disruptions.

www.amny.com

 

[Sweeper2000]

I thought it seemed counter-productive.

It was but it shows something, I don't think his intention was to kill because of it. I think he did a really stupid and impulsive thing. Thought "let's do this and see what happens" otherwise known as "effin about and finding out". Really impulsive thing. Like someone who sees a big red button and just pushes it without thinking.

I'm still shocked and horrified how quickly she went up the poor lady. Matter of seconds. That's how quickly it can go wrong.

 

[CrimeJunkie82]

Do they know anything about the suspect other than what has been said so far? I wonder if he suffered from some sort of mental illness. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this, although I honestly don't think that there is anyway possible to do so..

 

[CrimeJunkie82]

Has there been any updates on the case?

 

[jjenny]

Do they know anything about the suspect other than what has been said so far? I wonder if he suffered from some sort of mental illness. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this, although I honestly don't think that there is anyway possible to do so..

From what has been reported, he is a heavy drinker.

 

[jjenny]

It was but it shows something, I don't think his intention was to kill because of it. I think he did a really stupid and impulsive thing. Thought "let's do this and see what happens" otherwise known as "effin about and finding out". Really impulsive thing. Like someone who sees a big red button and just pushes it without thinking.

I'm still shocked and horrified how quickly she went up the poor lady. Matter of seconds. That's how quickly it can go wrong.

He was sitting there watching it. Then he noticed people were taking a video. Then he got up and went to her and started to fan the flames (which was only going to make the fire worse). I don't see anything to suggest his intentions were not to kill her. He wasn't doing anything that could actually put out the fire. He was in fact making it worse by fanning it.

 

[CrimeJunkie82]

From what has been reported, he is a heavy drinker.

That's insane that he was so drunk he did that if thats the case!

 

[CrimeJunkie82]

Does anyone have a link to the video?