A woman who died this month after being set on fire inside a New York subway train has been identified by police as a 57-year-old woman from New Jersey.
The woman, Debrina Kawam, was registered to an address in Toms River, New Jersey, according to New York Police Department (NYPD).
Officials had previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to try to piece together the identity of the victim.
She burned to death while apparently sleeping in a subway car in Brooklyn on Sunday 22 December.
A 33-year-old man, Sebastian Zapeta, was taken into custody hours after police sent out images of a suspect who had been spotted by high school students.
Zapeta was charged with murder and arson on Friday and is being held in prison.
Federal immigration authorities say the suspect is from Guatemala and entered the US illegally.
New York City mayor Eric Adams said today the victim had had a “brief stint in our homeless shelter system” at some point, and that authorities had contacted her next of kin.
“Hearts go out to the family, a horrific incident to have to live through,” Mr Adams said during a news briefing on another matter.
“It impacts on how New Yorkers feel. But it really reinforces what I’ve been saying: People should not be living on our subway system, they should be in a place of care. No matter where she lived, that should not have happened.”
Sebastian Zapeta appeared in court on Christmas Eve. Pic: AP
Prosecutors allege Zapeta set Kawam on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station, fanned the flames with a shirt, and then sat on a platform bench and watched as she burned.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system,” Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzalez said after the charge was announced.
Zapeta has yet to enter a plea in the case.
He was arrested hours after the Kawam’s death following the police receiving a tip off from a group of high school students who recognised images of the suspect circulated by police.
