The man accused of fatally stabbing a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte Area Transit System train last month has been charged with a federal crime.
Decarlos Brown Jr. is accused of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system in the Aug. 22 stabbing, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The victim, who was identified by police as Iryna Zarutska, had recently come to the U.S. from Ukraine to escape the war with Russia, according to her family. Zarutska started working immediately after getting her work permit, helping at a senior citizens center and a pizza place and taking care of neighborhood animals, said James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Division, who spoke during a news briefing Tuesday afternoon.
The 23-year-old had also recently moved in with her partner, according to Barnacle.
“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream. Her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence.”
Brown has a criminal history spanning over a decade, including felony breaking and entering and robbery with a dangerous weapon, for which he served a five-year prison sentence, according to court records.
Tragedy on public transit
According to a complaint filed by the FBI in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Zarutska got on the LYNX blue line train at 9:46 p.m. and sat in front of Brown.
“At approximately 21:50 hours, Brown pulled a knife from his pocket and unfolded the knife before striking the victim three times from behind,” the complaint stated. “Following the attack, suspected blood can be seen dripping onto the floor as Brown walked away from the victim.”
Officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to the 1800 block of Camden Road. The victim was in the rear car of the train near “a large amount of blood, with a single stab wound in the middle of her neck.”
Investigators found a pocketknife and a red shirt soaked in “suspected blood” at the scene, according to the complaint. Brown was arrested on the outbound LYNX blue line platform at the same station where the incident was reported. He was initially charged with first-degree murder.
“The brutal attack on Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Light Rail was a disgraceful act that should never happen in America,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “The FBI jumped to assist in this investigation immediately to ensure justice is served and the perpetrator is never released from jail to kill again.”
Brown was in state custody as of Tuesday, according to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson, who also spoke at the news briefing Tuesday. Ferguson said more federal charges could be filed.
If convicted, Brown will face life in prison without parole, or the death sentence, according to the Justice Department.
The investigation is ongoing.
National attention
Zarutska’s killing has garnered national attention, including from politicians on the right.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller blamed the Democratic Party for the incident, accusing the judges and politicians from the party of protecting Brown.
On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Moore, R-NC., led an effort calling for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who he said released Brown following a written promise that he’d appear in court.
“This tragedy was preventable. There must be accountability. North Carolinians deserve better,” Moore wrote on X.
The sentiment that Brown, a repeat offender, should not have been out on the streets, is shared by many.
“Where exactly did the system fail? It’s hard to say. This man was charged 14 times,” Barnacle said. “There’s been numerous encounters with police departments. He was arrested by the CMPD in January, but he’s still on our streets, so we’ll have to figure this out.”
Brown’s mental capacity has been called into question. Barnacle and Ferguson did not specifically comment on the topic.
“Ultimately, a judge will decide if he is competent to stand trial or not,” Ferguson said. “But one thing is for sure, this person cannot be allowed on the streets. He cannot be allowed on our trains.”
When asked if some politicians may be using the woman’s death for attention, Ferguson said, “There’s no politics to this.”
“If this was a political grandstand, there would be an opposite side to this. Is the opposite side, ‘Let’s allow murders on our light rail?’ Is the opposite side, ‘Let’s let people out of state prison so they can commit other crimes?’ There’s no other side of this.”
Ferguson and Barnacle said they spoke to Zarutska’s family, who said they would like her to be buried in America.
“They said, ‘She loved America, we’re going to bury her here,'” Ferguson said. “So, I think we can give her an America to be proud of.”
