Man accused of stabbing Iryna Zarutska on train deemed incompetent to stand trial
· Toronto Sun
Decarlos Brown Jr., the homeless man accused of fatally stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a North Carolina train, has been deemed mentally “incapable” of standing trial.
In a motion filed April 7 by the accused’s attorneys, a North Carolina psychiatric facility noted in a December 2025 report that Brown was “incapable to proceed to trial,” per The Assembly .
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The case itself cannot proceed until a judge decides that the suspect’s mental capacity has been restored, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Brown is facing state and federal murder charges for allegedly stabbing Zarutska to death on Aug. 22, 2025, aboard a light-rail train in Charlotte, N.C. Zarutska was 23 years old.
Zarutska pronounced dead at scene
According to an affidavit, surveillance video from the train at about 9:55 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2025, shows Zarutska sitting in an aisle seat in front of a man purported to be Brown, who allegedly pulls out a knife, stands up and “strikes at the victim three times,” ABC News reported.
“Blood visibly drips on the floor as the defendant walks away from the victim. The victim goes unresponsive shortly after the attack,” the affidavit noted.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. A witness later told authorities of Brown’s location.
Brown was first charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal attack. He was later hit with a federal charge, committing an act causing death on a mass-transportation system, according to the U.S. Justice Department .
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if Brown is convicted.
The fatal stabbing and the surveillance video made national headlines.
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Accused has vast criminal history
Brown is no stranger to the criminal justice system with a rap sheet that dates to 2007, WBTV3 reported.
He was arrested on robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon charges in 2014, for which he was convicted and served more than five years in prison before being released on parole in September 2020.
Before Zarutska’s death, Brown was arrested in January 2025 for allegedly misusing 911. He spent two days in jail before being released on a promise to appear, WBTV reported.
A judge ordered Brown to get a forensic evaluation on July 28, 2025, after his public defender questioned his mental capacity in a motion.
Zarutska emigrated from Kyiv to the United States along with her mother, sister and brother to “escape the war.” She “quickly embraced her new life in the United States,” according to her obituary .
The woman’s family chose to bury her in the U.S. because she “loved America,” FBI spokesperson James Barnacle told WBTV.