Police identify woman who was burned to death on New York subway

The victim's body was burned beyond recognition, and it took authorities more than a week to confirm her identity.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, has been accused of setting Kawam alight whilst she slept on a stationary subway train.

Police say Zapeta allegedly approached Kawam with a lighter whilst she was motionless and asleep on the train.

The pair had never interacted and were not known to each other, according to authorities.

Video footage shows the suspect waving a shirt at the victim, apparently to fan the flames rather than extinguish them.

Zapeta then left the subway car and watched the fire from a bench on the platform.

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The smell of smoke alerted police officers and Metropolitan Transit Authority staff, who rushed to extinguish the flames.

Unaware of his involvement at the time, officers found the suspect still seated on the platform bench outside the burning train car.

Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzalez said authorities worked to collect DNA evidence and fingerprints from Kawam's remains.

"It's a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman, so we can notify her family," Gonzalez said at a press conference early in the investigation.

During the identification process, false information circulated online, including an AI-generated image purporting to be of the victim.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding her identity at the time, members of the public held a vigil for Kawam last week.

A grand jury has indicted Zapeta on four counts of murder and one count of arson.

During a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, prosecutor Ari Rottenberg revealed that Zapeta claimed to have been drinking and had no memory of the incident.

However, the suspect did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being set.

Immigration authorities confirmed that Zapeta, who is originally from Guatemala, had been deported from the United States in 2018.

He later re-entered the country illegally.

New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".

Kawam was declared dead at the scene of the attack.

Zapeta is scheduled to return to court on January 7, prosecutors said.