New York City police have released the name of the woman who was set on fire on a Brooklyn subway train.

Authorities on Tuesday identified Debrina Kawam, 61, of New Jersey as the victim of a seemingly random attack on Dec. 22 that burned her body beyond recognition.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, is accused of setting the fire with a lighter while Ms Khawam slept. He allegedly fanned the flames with a shirt and then watched the flames spread from a bench outside the subway car.

Last week, a grand jury indicted Mr. Zapeta, who said he had no memory of the incident, on four counts of murder and one count of arson.

It took authorities more than a week to fully identify the body.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at a news conference early in the investigation that authorities had worked to collect DNA evidence and fingerprints from Ms. Khawam’s body.

“It is a top priority for me, my office and the police department to identify this woman so we can notify her family,” Mr. Gonzalez said.

False and unsubstantiated information about her, including a fake artificial intelligence-generated photo, circulated online while the authorities were working.

There has also been an outpouring of support, including a vigil held last week for the then-unidentified victim.

Police said that early on December 22, Ms. Khawam was motionless and apparently asleep on a stationary subway train at the Stilwell Avenue station in Coney Island, Brooklyn, while Mr. Zapeta allegedly held a lighter. Get close to her.

The two never interacted and police believe they did not know each other.

Video shows the suspect waving a shirt at her, apparently fanning the flames rather than putting out the flames. Then he got off the subway car and sat on a bench on the platform to observe the fire.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the smell of smoke drew police and Metropolitan Transportation Authority personnel to the fire and extinguished the flames.

“Unbeknownst to the responding officers, the suspect had remained at the scene and was sitting on a bench on the platform outside the train carriage,” Ms Tisch said.

Authorities pronounced Ms. Khawam dead at the scene.

Ms Tisch described the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes a person can commit against another person”.

During a preliminary hearing Tuesday, prosecutor Ari Rottenberg said Zapeta told investigators he was drinking and did not remember the incident, but did appear in photos and surveillance video showing the fire. Show your identity.

Immigration authorities said Zapeta, who is from Guatemala, was deported from the United States in 2018 and later reentered the country illegally.

Prosecutors said he will appear in court again on January 7.