'Million-Dollar Smile': Yearbook Remembers New York Woman Burned To Death On Subway

The 57-year-old woman, who was set on fire on a New York City subway last week, was known for her "million-dollar smile." Debrina Kawam was killed after a 33-year-old man put her ablaze while she was asleep aboard a Brooklyn train on December 22. Ms Kawan, according to her high school yearbook biography, once dreamt of becoming a flight attendant.

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a 33-year-old Guatemalan national, has been charged with first and second-degree murder and arson in connection with the attack.

Mr Kawam, originally from Toms River, New Jersey, graduated from Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls in 1985, reported The New York Times. Known to her classmates as "Debbie" or "Deb," she was described as a cheerful personality who participated in cheerleading and shared her ambition to "party forever" in her yearbook entry.

Today we learned the name of the woman who was fatally set on fire on the F train on December 22: Debrina Kawam, from Tom's River, NJ. She was 57 years old.

This tragedy is difficult to fathom but at least we can now remember the victim. My thoughts are with those who knew her. pic.twitter.com/ylYRMqh9hQ

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 31, 2024

She was one of three students in her class known for having a "million-dollar smile" and also earned the title of "most punk." In her yearbook, she thanked her parents "for everything."

In recent years, Ms Kawam faced hardships and had been living in New York City homeless shelters since September, according to sources.

Her death has left those who knew her shaken. Olga Corpion, who resides in the Toms River home where Kawam's mother once lived, recalled meeting Kawam earlier this year. "She said, 'Hi, my name is Debrina, and I want to go see my mom. My mother lives here. I want to talk to her,'" Corpion told The New York Post.

"She looked like she was in her 50s, so right away I assumed she was not well because she didn't know her mom had moved. I'm in shock that she was standing right here, and then I found out she died so horribly."

Ms Kawam's body was identified through fingerprint analysis more than a week after the attack. Surveillance footage reportedly shows the suspect, Zapeta-Calil, committing the act.

Zapeta-Calil was deported in 2018 but he illegally re-entered the US. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the case was being treated with the utmost seriousness. "It is the most serious statute in New York state law, and my office is very confident about the evidence in this case and our ability to hold Zapeta accountable for his dastardly deeds," The New York Post quoted him as saying.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Zapeta-Calil faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He has reportedly told authorities that he was drunk at the time of the attack and does not recall his actions.