A federal grand jury has indicted 34-year-old career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr. for the savage stabbing death of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train.
The charges make Brown eligible for the death penalty.
In August, Brown, clad in a red sweatshirt, unfolded a pocketknife and lunged at Zarutska from behind, stabbing her in the neck as she innocently scrolled on her phone. Witnesses acted casually. Many pretended not to see what happened and left without offering any aid.
The entire horrific scene was captured on surveillance footage and released to the public.
Iryna Zarutska’s alleged murderer Decarlos Brown was just federally indicted.
Justice is coming.
We have not forgotten you Iryna. pic.twitter.com/JD0v8ub9fM
— Rep. Mark Harris (@RepMarkHarrisNC) October 23, 2025
Police found her lifeless body in a pool of blood on the floor of the train car.
Brown was arrested on the train platform, with his bloodied knife recovered as evidence.
Homeless and reportedly suffering from schizophrenia, Brown has a rap sheet dating back to 2007 with at least 14 arrests in North Carolina alone. His prior convictions include assault, illegal firearms possession, felony robbery, and larceny. He should have been locked up long before this tragedy.
Though he was already facing state murder charges, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment on Wednesday.
Federally, Brown now faces charges of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, carrying the possibility of execution or life imprisonment.
On the state level, he’s charged with first-degree murder. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio leading the prosecution, is treating this as a top-priority assault on public safety and infrastructure.
President Donald Trump has even weighed in on the case, blasting Brown as an “animal” and calling for a quick trial resulting in the death penalty.
“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY,” the president wrote on Truth Social in September.
In response to the shocking murder, North Carolina lawmakers passed “Iryna’s Law” earlier this month, eliminating cashless bail for violent offenders and speeding up death penalty proceedings.
As Brown’s defense pushes for a mental competency evaluation, many hope it doesn’t become another excuse to evade accountability and justice.
