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The police officially identified the woman who was set on fire and burned in a subway car in New York last week as a 61-year-old New Jersey resident.
Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jerseyhe slept in a car at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, d Brooklynyear, on December 22, when a terrible incident took place.
Authorities previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim, but released her name Tuesday.
Sebastian Zapeta faces state charges of murder for aggravated assault, with the criminal complaint alleging the 33-year-old used a shirt to fan the flames after setting Kawam on fire.
After he started the fire, Zapeta then sat on a bench on the platform and watched her burn alive, according to prosecutors.
Kawam was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later that day, police took Zapeta into custody while he was riding a train on the same subway line, after three high school students called 911 — recognizing his image that had been ejected by the force.
Zapeta told investigators he had had a lot to drink and didn’t know what happened. However, he identified himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire starting.
Zepata faces one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at a news conference that the full indictment against Zapeta will remain sealed until he is arraigned on the new charges on Jan. 7.
Gonzalez added that the state charges were brought to ensure the “maximum punishment” for the “heinous” crime.
The Brooklyn address for Zapeta that police released after his arrest corresponds to a shelter that provides housing and support for substance abuse.
Federal immigration officials said the Guatemalan national was previously deported in 2018 but then returned to the U.S. illegally.
Zapeta waived his right to appear in court on Friday and will remain jailed at New York’s Rikers Island complex ahead of his trial next month.