Debrina “Debbie” Kawam Passaic, 57. (Photo via: Valley Regional High School) / (R) Guatemalan illegal alien Sebastian Zapeta-Calil (Photo via: New York Police Department)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 12:49 PM – Thursday, January 2, 2025
According to her high school yearbook biography, the sleeping subway rider who was tragically set on fire and burned to death by an illegal alien from Guatemala on a Brooklyn F train wanted to work as a flight attendant, and she was renowned for her “million dollar smile.”
As a result of nationwide calls to see the victim who met a heartbreaking fate and to, more importantly, honor her memory, authorities made her old yearbook photo (shown above) public this week.
The New York Times reported that Debrina Kawam, who her classmates called “Debbie” or “Deb,” graduated from Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls, New Jersey, in 1985.
Kawam, 57, had recently fallen on hard times. According to sources, she spent September through December 2nd in homeless shelters throughout New York City.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a Guatemalan illegal immigrant, is suspected of setting her on fire on a F train at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island stop at roughly 7:30 a.m. on December 22nd.
Online video shows that she was asleep on the train when she was burned.
Kawam, who was a native of Toms River, recalled her time at the public school as a cheerleader in her freshman and sophomore years, and she said in the yearbook that her ambition was “to party forever.” She also thanked her parents “for everything” as she concluded her biography.
According to the publication, Kawam was one of three children who received the high school yearbook’s nomination of “million dollar smile” and “most punk.”
Fingerprints were used to identify Kawam’s body over a week after the horrific incident.
On December 27th, 33-year-old Zapeta-Calil, who was deported in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, but later returned back to the U.S. illegally once more under President Joe Biden, has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and one count of arson. He claimed that he couldn’t recall setting her on fire since he was extremely intoxicated.
If found guilty on the top accusation of first-degree murder, Zapeta-Calil could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
“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,” Gonzalez stated.
SAY HER NAME: Debrina Kawam
She should be alive today, but the people in charge failed her and she was reduced to a smoking pile of ash on the subway.
