Suspect in Fatal Stabbing of Ukrainian Refugee on N.C. Train Faces Federal Charges, Death Penalty By Charna Flam

The man suspected of fatally stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte in late August has been charged with federal charges, the Justice Department said on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested on Friday, Aug. 22, after the fatal stabbing of Zarutska, 23, on the light rail train in Charlotte, N.C. He was first charged with first-degree murder in connection with the attack on Thursday, Aug. 28.

On Tuesday, Brown was charged with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, the Justice Department said in a statement. He could face the maximum sentence of the death penalty. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, will be prosecuting Brown.

“This brutal attack on an innocent woman simply trying to get to her destination is an attack on the American way of life. Of course, crimes like this affect the victim the most — Iryna deserves justice, and we will bring justice to her and her family,” U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said in a statement.

Ferguson also called the attack a “terroristic act” during a press conference on Tuesday. He also said that he and North Carolina FBI Special Agent James Barnacle Jr. had already alerted Zarutska’s family that the suspect is facing federal charges.

The charges against Brown come one day after Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles told the city that an increase in “security presence for the Blue Line platforms” begins immediately. 

“No one should sit in fear while on the light rail,” Ferguson said during the Tuesday press conference.

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“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. 

Bondi said she “directed” her attorneys to federally prosecute Brown, whom she claimed is “a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder.”

“We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man,” Bondi said.

FBI Director Kash Patel also called the attack “a disgraceful act that should never happen in America.” He said the FBI wants to “ensure justice is served and the perpetrator is never released from jail to kill again.”

“[The charges] are the first step toward delivering justice for Iryna and her family – as well as the millions of Americans who deserve to live in our great American cities free from being targeted by violent criminals,” Patel’s statement read.

Brown was previously charged with larceny and breaking and entering. He also served a five-year prison sentence beginning in 2015, after he was found guilty of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He was charged with an additional 11 charges — which included his most recent January arrest when he repeatedly called the 911 emergency hotline from a hospital, per the BBC.

On Friday, Aug. 22, at 9:55 p.m., Zarutska was seen sitting in an aisle seat directly in front of her attacker when “the suspect pulls a knife out of his pocket, unfolds the knife, pauses, then stands up, and strikes at the victim three times,” according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.

“Blood visibly drips on the floor as the defendant walks away from the victim. The victim goes unresponsive shortly after the attack,” the affidavit states, per CNN.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, and a witness told authorities Brown’s location, the affidavit said, per ABC News.

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Before the artist was fatally stabbed, she emigrated from Kyiv to the U.S. with her mother, sister and brother “to escape the war, and she quickly embraced her new life in the United States,” according to her obituary. Ferguson said her family said she will be buried in the U.S., because “she loved America.”

Brown’s next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 19.