The Truth Behind the Photo Alleged to be Debrina Kawam
 Who was Debrina Kawam from New Jersey? Woman Burned to Death on NYC Subway A woman who was burned to death in a New York City subway last week has been identified as a 57 -year-old woman from New ... |
 Who was Debrina Kawam: From a Modest Apartment in Atlantic to Homeless in New York The woman who was burned to death on the NYC Subway on December 22, 2024, has been identified as Debrina Kawam, 57, a homeless New ... |
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| The woman who was set on fire by an illegal immigrant has been identified as Debrina Kawam. An account appears to have popped up on X recently with the same name and a photo, suggesting it COULD be the woman in question. (PHOTO NOT CONFIRMED) |
According to the NYPD, Kawam was sleeping on the train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station early on the morning of Dec. 22 when 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta walked up to her and set her clothes on fire using what police believe was a lighter.
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| Photo alleged to be Debrina Kawam |
She was pronounced dead at the scene. NYPD officers arrested Zapeta later that day on the subway in Manhattan, following a tip from members of the public who police said recognized him from surveillance footage the department had released. Authorities have said they do not believe Kawam and Zapeta knew each other before the incident.
Learn more: Who was Debrina Kawam from New Jersey? Woman Burned to Death on NYC Subway
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| INFORMATION NOT CONFIRMED on X |
Kawam graduated in 1985 from Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, New Jersey, where she went by Deb or Debbie, participated in cheerleading and aspired to be an “airline stewardess,” according to her yearbook bio. Classmates named her and five other students “Most Punk” that year.
Kawam worked at the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Merck from some time in the late 1990s until 2002, according to a company spokesperson. On her Facebook page, Kawam said she attended Montclair State University. A school spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation.
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| Portrait of Debrina Kawam from 1985 High School Yearbook |
Property and court records suggest she faced financial difficulties in recent years, declaring bankruptcy in 2008, defaulting on her mortgage at a home in Little Falls, New Jersey in 2010 and facing a lawsuit from a debt collection agency in 2016.
Police gave Kawam’s last known address as a home in Toms River, New Jersey that was previously owned by her mother but sold in April of this year.
Debrina Kawam: 'I Want to See my Mother'
The current resident of a former home of Debrina Kawam in Toms River, N.J., recounted a strange encounter with her in May, sharing the story with The Daily News. According to the resident, identified only as Olga, Kawam unexpectedly appeared at her doorstep, looking for her family—weeks after they had moved out.
“She introduced herself, saying, ‘I’m Debrina. I’m the sister. I want to see my mother,’” Olga recalled. “She seemed like an older woman, and I got the impression she might have had some mental challenges. It felt odd—how could she not know her family had already moved? Something wasn’t right.”
Olga said she invited Kawam into her home and attempted to contact her realtor to obtain a phone number for Kawam’s family. When the realtor didn’t respond, Olga asked Kawam for her own contact number to provide an update later.
“She told me she didn’t have a phone,” Olga said. “She kept repeating, ‘I need to get one. I’ve got to get one.’”
When contacted by phone on Tuesday, Kawam’s relatives declined to comment immediately, explaining that they had only just been informed by authorities of her death.
