Sebastian Zapeta, the man accused of setting a woman on fire on the NYC subway, pleads not guilty in the death of Debrina Kawam.

Zapeta was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on first-degree murder and arson charges Tuesday.

In December 2024, a woman was brutally set on fire in a New York City subway. She has now been identified as 57-year-old Toms River, New Jersey, resident Debrina Kawam. As the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams spoke to the press, they explained more details about the terrifying crime.

The woman who was set on fire on the NYC subway has been identified as Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey, police say.

Authorities have released the identity of the sleeping woman burned to death inside a New York City subway train by a man who allegedly lit her on fire and stayed to watch the aftermath, officials said Tuesday.

The woman burned to death on an F train in Brooklyn has been identified as a 57-year-old resident of Toms River, NJ. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, is accused of setting the woman on fire while she was sleeping on an F train on Dec. 22. Zapeta-Calil faces multiple counts of murder and arson.

A woman who died after being set on fire on a New York City subway train this month has been identified, according to police. The woman was named as Debrina Kawam, 57, of Toms River, New Jersey, the New York Police Department said.

Sebastian Zapeta, the man accused of setting a woman on fire on the NYC subway, is due in court in the death of Debrina Kawam.

The suspect is accused of setting a sleeping woman's clothes on fire, using his shirt to fan the flames and then sitting on a platform bench nearby.

Prosecutors say the man lit a New Jersey native on fire on a stopped F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station in late December.

A man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to setting a sleeping woman on fire, killing her aboard a New York City subway train.