On Tuesday, officials revealed that the woman who tragically died after being set on fire on a New York City subway train was identified as Debrina Kawam, 57, from Toms River, New Jersey.

During a press briefing, New York City Mayor Eric Adams mentioned that Kawam had “briefly utilized” the city’s homeless shelters. However, he and the police did not confirm her homelessness status.

This identification came over a week following the shocking incident on December 22, which heightened public unease regarding subway safety in the largest city in the U.S.

Recently, a grand jury charged a 33-year-old Guatemalan man, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, who is in the U.S. illegally, with murder and arson for his involvement in the incident.

According to prosecutors and police, the suspect approached Kawam, who was seated on an F train subway car, set her on fire using a lighter, and exacerbated the flames with a shirt. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated the suspect remained on a platform bench near the subway car as the fire spread before fleeing the scene, and his image was captured by the body cameras of responding officers.

Tisch condemned the assault, describing it as “one of the most heinous crimes one person can commit against another.”

Authorities noted that Zapeta-Calil had been previously deported in June 2018 but managed to return to the U.S. illegally at an unknown time and location.

Zapeta-Calil was apprehended on December 23 after several high school students recognized him while he was on the subway in midtown Manhattan.

During a court proceeding last week, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg revealed that Zapeta-Calil acknowledged his identity in relation to images of the brutal attack. However, he also claimed that he had no knowledge of the incident. Requests for comments from his attorney were not answered.

His next court date is scheduled for January 7.