Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa marked the first anniversary of the stomach-turning arson killing of a homeless woman allegedly torched by an illegal immigrant and called for a statue of the victim to be erected on the subway platform where she died.

Sliwa and others from the Big Apple vigilante group converged Monday at the same F train subway station on Coney Island where Debrina Kawam was torched on December 22, 2024. The attack was allegedly carried out by Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, who sources said even fanned the flames with his jacket.

“Every person is entitled to have a legacy, no matter who they are,” the former Republican mayoral candidate told reporters. “And she has a very interesting story, although she never had a chance to tell it to anybody because of her untimely death.”

“Doesn’t seem like anybody else cares,” he added. “I think the next thing we have to try to do is convince the MTA that there should be a statue right here. It sort of honors all the homeless and emotionally disturbed persons who make their homes in subway cars, platforms, and stations.”

The caught-on-video arson attack was one of the city’s most shocking and disturbing subway slaughters, made all the more horrific by the number of straphangers who failed to come to Kawam’s aid. Surveillance and mobile phone footage show the killer watching Kawam burn, then sitting casually on a subway bench as first responders arrived at the scene.

Zapeta-Calil later told police he was so intoxicated on alcohol that he couldn’t remember the incident, according to sources.

Debrina Kawam grew up in a good family in Tom’s River, New Jersey. She went on to attend college and work in Atlantic City before mental illness and bad fortune shattered her life, leaving her homeless and relying on subway tunnels and trains for warmth during the cold winter months. She reportedly shunned the violence of city homeless shelters, according to Sliwa.

Fellow Guardian Angel Amaldo Salina, who co-founded the group, said the victim’s violent death needed to be a wake-up call for New Yorkers and officials alike.

“Society has to stand up for each other,” he said. “We can’t count on government. We can’t count on the police trying to help us. We have to be that positive change. That’s what the Guardian Angels is all about.”
https://nypost.com/2025/12/22/us-news/sliwa-marks-anniversary-of-horrific-subway-arson-death-by-illegal-immigrant-wants-statue-of-victim/