America knows Debrina Kawam as the homeless woman who was burned alive on the New York City subway by an illegal migrant, a horrific act caught in footage that shocked the country.
But to New Jersey native Mark Monteyne, who went to high school with Kawam before her life took a dark turn, she was a beloved cheerleader, pancake house waitress and the ‘life of the party.
‘I have happy high school memories with her,’ Monteyne, who is based in Totowa, New Jersey, told the DailyMail.com.
‘She was vibrant, she was always energized, and basically she was the cheerleader and I was the football player. She was the life of the party, she was the life of the day.’
The 57-year-old borough recreation director remembered Kawam as their ‘vibrant’ Passaic Valley High School cheerleader who delighted customers with her charisma and charm while working part time at Perkins Pancake House.
Monteyne shared photographs of Kawam with the DailyMail.com of her in happier times, playfully striking a pose at a friend’s house, and smiling in the shade of a tree on a summer’s day in NJ.
Monteyne, who appears beside Kawam in their 1985 yearbook, said he’s still processing the fact that the Little Falls sweetheart he knew and loved when they were teenagers is the woman now making headlines for the most tragic of reasons.
‘She was in my classes,’ he added. ‘She would help me in chemistry class. She was talented at chemistry – she was a smart individual.’
Mark Monteyne, who went to high school with Debbie Kawam before her life took a dark turn, she was a beloved cheerleader, pancake house waitress and the life and soul of the party. (Pictured: Kawam in her youth smiling in the shade of a tree on a summer’s day)
Monteyne remembered Kawam as a ‘vibrant’ Passaic Valley High School cheerleader who delighted customers with her charisma and charm while working part time at Perkins Pancake House. (Pictured: Kawam playfully striking a pose at a friend’s house in the 1980s)
Monteyne played football at Passaic Valley High School, and Debbie Kawam was a cheerleader
‘Everyone is in shock now,’ he added of Kawam’s tragic death. ‘We had a nice, close-knit family in 1985. It really hit home.
‘(In Totowa), we are only 18 miles away from the Big Apple. It’s very surprising what’s going on and what’s happening on the subway. It’s really really sad.’
Kawam was a ‘vibrant’ happy teenager
Though he still meets up with a close circle of friends from Passaic High, Monteyne lost touch with Kawam after their school day. He expressed regret that he didn’t know about the dark turn her life had taken in the years before her death.
Kawam was homeless, $90,000 in debt and struggling with alcoholism when she was murdered at the age of 57.
Monteyne’s friend, who listed her ‘secret ambition’ on her high school yearbook profile as ‘partying forever’, had accumulated dozens of summonses for drinking and disorderly conduct on the Jersey Shore over the last decade.
‘I didn’t know the story of her demons,’ Monteyne told DailyMail.com. ‘I think if we only knew about her struggles, then maybe we could have tried to help her. As a community, and as old friends.’
Monteyne added that he blamed America’s broken immigration system for his friend’s tragic death, allegedly at the hands of Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil.
The 33-year-old illegal migrant is accused of burning Kawam alive on a subway train in Coney Island on December 22. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
Monteyne told the DailyMail.com that Kawam’s death was ‘another example’ of America’s dire need for tighter control of the immigration system.
Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil calmly walks through the subway car after allegedly burning Kawam alive in Coney Island on December 22
Pictured: Kawam out with a friend in the 1980s, before her life took a dark turn years later
Monteyne, who appears beside Kawam in their 1985 school yearbook, said he’s still processing the fact that the Little Falls sweetheart he knew and loved when they were teenagers is the woman now making headlines for the most tragic of reasons
Kawam was described by her friend as ‘the life of the party’ when they were in high school
‘We need borders. We need border control. This is another example of that,’ he said.
Zapeta-Calil was later caught on camera at the station sitting on a bench and watching as the woman was engulfed in flames – but he wasn’t arrested until seven hours later
‘We need strong leadership. That is forthcoming, which is great, so I’m excited with that and I believe the elected president is going to be strong in enforcing border control which is a great thing. I do think Trump will deliver.’
Monteyne did not want to speak about current politicians responsible for border policies, the NYPD’s response to the tragedy, or Zapeta-Calil specifically. ‘I just hope that justice is served,’ he said.
Prosecutors say Zapeta-Calil set Kawam on fire as she slept on a stopped train in Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on December 22.
They allege that the suspect then fanned the flames with a shirt before sitting on platform bench and watching as she burned, as caught on the mobile phone cameras of New Yorkers who were on the platform at the time.
Law enforcement sources told The New York Post that Zapeta-Calil claimed he was drunk and had no recollection of the incident.
The footage of the moments after Kawam was set on fire went viral as it showed an NYPD officer walking past the blaze while the suspect watched on.
The horrific subway burning incident was caught on camera by New Yorkers on the platform
Pictured: Sebastian Zapeta-Calil being arraigned at Kings County Supreme Court on January 7
NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a press conference that officers who responded were not aware the suspect was on the scene at the time.
Hours later, the NYPD released images of the suspect, showing him watching his victim burning to death before he casually walked away from the scene.
Zapeta eventually boarded the subway later in the day, and he was arrested after he was flagged by high schoolers who recognized him from the images.
ICE officials said Zapeta entered the US illegally from Guatemala in 2018 and was deported, but re-entered the country at some point after.
The incident quickly became part of the national debate over the dramatic rise in crimes being committed by illegal immigrants in the United States.