BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A memorial service scheduled for Sunday will honor Debrina Kawam, a woman burned to death on a Brooklyn subway.
Loved ones and community members will honor the 57-year-old at the First Baptist Church of Sheepshead Bay Sunday evening.
The New Jersey woman was asleep on an F train at the Stillwell Avenue station around 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 22 when a man lit her on fire, police said. The man was later identified as Sebastia Zapeta, who now faces murder and arson charges, authorities said.
Kawam grew up in Little Falls and went to Passaic Valley Regional High School where she was a popular student, cheerleader and pancake house worker, her childhood and young adult friends told The New York Times.
In the early 2000s, she worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck, but her life took a rocky turn at some point. She went into debt, had liens filed against her and filed for bankruptcy, according to public records.
She briefly stayed at a New York homeless shelter after moving to the city recently, according to the Department of Social Services.
This story comprises reporting from The Associated Press.
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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