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 captured in footage that shocked the country.
But for 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 fond memories of high school with her,” Monteyne, who lives in Totowa, New Jersey, told DailyMail.com.
“She was lively, she always had energy, 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 district’s 57-year-old recreation director remembered Kawam as their “vibrant” cheerleader at Passaic Valley High School, who delighted customers with her charisma and charm while working part-time at Perkins Pancake House.
Monteyne shared photos of Kawam with the DailyMail.com of her in happier times, playfully posing at a friend’s house and smiling in the shade of a tree on a summer day in New Jersey.
Monteyne, who appears alongside Kawam in their 1985 yearbook, said he’s still coming to terms with the fact that the Little Falls darling he knew and loved when they were teenagers is the woman now making headlines for the most tragic of reasons fetches.
“She was in my classes,” he added. “She would help me with chemistry class. She was talented in chemistry, she was a smart person.”
Mark Monteyne, who went to high school with Debbie Kawam before her life took a dark turn, was a beloved cheerleader, waitress at the pancake house and the life and soul of the party. (Image: Kawam in her youth smiling in the shade of a tree on a summer day)
Monteyne remembered Kawam as a “vibrant” cheerleader from Passaic Valley High School who delighted customers with her charisma and charm while working part-time at Perkins Pancake House. (Image: Kawam playfully posing 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 right now,” he added of Kawam’s tragic death. ‘In 1985 we had a nice, close family. It was really a hit.
“(In Totowa) we’re only 18 miles from the Big Apple. It is very surprising what happens and what happens in the metro. It’s really sad.’
Kawam was a ‘lively’, happy teenager
Although he still meets a close circle of friends from Passaic High, Monteyne lost contact with Kawam after their day at school. He expressed regret that he knew nothing of 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 age 57.
Monteyne’s girlfriend, who listed her “secret ambition” on her high school yearbook profile as “partying forever,” had racked up dozens of summonses for binge drinking and disorderly conduct at the Jersey Shore over the past decade.
“I didn’t know the story of her demons,” Monteyne told DailyMail.com. “I think if we had only known about her struggles, maybe we could have tried to help her. As a community, and as old friends.’
Monteyne added that he blamed the US 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 Coney Island subway train on December 22. He did that too pleaded not guilty on the murder charges.
Monteyne told DailyMail.com that Kawam’s death was “yet another example” of America’s urgent need for tighter controls on the immigration system.
Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil calmly walks through the subway 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 alongside Kawam in their 1985 school yearbook, said he is still coming to terms with the fact that the Little Falls darling he knew and loved when they were teenagers is the woman now making headlines for the most tragic reasons.
Kawam was described by her friend as “the life of the party” when they were in high school
‘We need boundaries. 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 the woman go up in flames – but he was not arrested until seven hours later.
‘We need strong leadership. That’s coming, which is great, so I’m excited about that and I believe the president-elect will be strong on enforcing border control, which is a great thing. I really think Trump will deliver.”
Monteyne declined to discuss the current politicians responsible for border policy, the NYPD’s response to the tragedy, or specifically Zapeta-Calil. “I just hope that justice is served,” he said.
Prosecutors say Zapeta-Calil set Kawam on fire while she slept on a stationary train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on December 22.
They claim the suspect then fanned the flames with a shirt before sitting on the platform bench and watching them burn, as captured on the cell phone cameras of New Yorkers who were on the platform at the time.
Law enforcement sources report this The New York Post that Zapeta-Calil claimed he was drunk and could not remember the incident.
Footage of the moments after Kawam was set on fire went viral and showed an NYPD officer walking past the fire as the suspect looked on.
The horrific subway fire incident was caught on camera by New Yorkers on the platform
Pictured: Sebastian Zapeta-Calil is scheduled to be arraigned in Kings County Superior Court on January 7
NYPD Police Chief Jessica Tisch told a news conference that responding officers were unaware the suspect was on the scene at the time.
Hours later, the NYPD released images of the suspect, showing his victim burning to death before casually walking away from the scene.
Zapeta eventually boarded the subway later that day and was arrested after being flagged by high school students who recognized him from the footage.
ICE officials said Zapeta illegally entered the U.S. from Guatemala in 2018 and was deported, but reentered the country at some point afterward.
The incident quickly became part of the national debate about the dramatic increase in crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the United States.