Iryna Zarutska was simply one other passenger when she boarded the late-night Blue Line train after it pulled into Scaleybark station, simply a few miles outdoors of downtown Charlotte. She wore khaki pants and a darkish shirt. Her lengthy blonde hair had been tucked beneath a hat from Zepeddie’s Pizzeria the place she labored.
Like close by passengers, the 23-year-old bowed her head as the train continued on, absorbed by the telephone in her hand. Zarutska, a refugee from Ukraine, had picked an empty row, and sat in entrance of a man in a purple sweatshirt, unaware of the two’s imminent collision course.
Just 4 minutes later, Decarlos Brown, the passenger behind her, dug into the fold of his garments and took out what gave the impression to be a knife. For a second, he regarded again out the window, as if that was all he was going to do. But in a fast motion, he launched up and swung his arm over the seat and fatally stabbed Zarutska, who clutched her face and throat earlier than slouching to the floor.
Zarutska died on the train from her accidents as passengers kneeled over her attempting to assist. Brown has been charged with first-degree homicide in her killing.
In the days after the launch of video of the assault, the stabbing and Brown’s prolonged criminal history – together with convictions for armed theft, larceny and breaking and getting into – have been decried by the Trump administration and conservative politicians for instance of the violent crime they are saying plagues many Democrat-led cities throughout the United States.
The crime has change into a rallying cry as the administration seeks to justify the deployment of federal troops to Los Angeles and Washington, DC, at the same time as President Donald Trump threatens to deploy the National Guard to Chicago.
“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it!,” Trump stated on Truth Social. He referred to as Brown a “career criminal.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and Brown’s household have each stated the killing is partly resulting from failures of a courtroom system that allowed Brown to re-enter the group regardless of a file of psychological sickness, and convictions for armed theft, felony larceny and breaking and getting into.
Ultimately, the paths of two folks fatally converged – a lady who escaped violence solely to face it in the US and a man whose members of the family consider he was failed by each the criminal justice and the well being care system.
Zarutska had a present. Her mom referred to as it an “artist’s gift.” It wasn’t her capability to sculpt or design garments – although she liked to try this. Zarutska, who had a diploma in artwork and restoration from Synergy College in Kyiv, usually bestowed her artwork on household and pals.
Her “artist’s gift” was what her mom affectionately referred to as her capability to sleep for “wonderfully long stretches.”
She was a homebody, and “happiest when surrounded by family and loved ones,” her household stated in her obituary.
Zarutska left Ukraine in August 2022, six months after Russia invaded, to flee the conflict.
Lonnie, a household pal, instructed NCS affiliate WCNC Zarutska endured every day bombing in Ukraine and the agony of not realizing “if you’re going to live or breathe another day.”
She fled with her mom, sister and brother, discovered a residence in North Carolina and embraced life in Charlotte. She attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, and dreamed of turning into a veterinary assistant.
“She often cared for her neighbors’ pets, and many fondly remember seeing her walking them through the neighborhood, always with her radiant smile,” her household stated.
Zarutska labored in a full of life space of the decrease South End dotted with breweries, residence complexes and espresso outlets. The 2007 debut of the gentle rail system helped gas the neighborhood’s rise.
She had been inching towards independence and studying to drive, they stated. But in the meantime, she would take the train.
Days earlier than the stabbing, Brown, confirmed up at his mom’s home. Michelle Dewitt stated her son, who was homeless and residing at a native shelter, requested to remain the night time.
Later that morning, Brown’s mom dropped him off at a Statesville Avenue shelter, a few miles away from the Scaleybark station. She hugged him and instructed her son she liked him, she stated, earlier than heading to church.
When she came upon about the stabbing and his arrest, Dewitt couldn’t consider it was her son. She had kicked him out earlier than for turning into too violent, she instructed NCS affiliate WSOC. But nonetheless, she thought the identification of her son as a suspect should have been a mistake.
But Brown, who had a history of psychological well being points, had been struggling lately, she stated.
His sister, Tracey Brown, stated he had been identified with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia.
Decarlos Brown had spent greater than 5 years in jail for theft with a harmful weapon. And when he bought out in 2020, his sister stated she felt she was dealing with a totally different individual.
“He didn’t seem like himself,” Tracey Brown stated. Her brother struggled to have easy conversations and couldn’t maintain down a job. He would typically change into aggressive.
Decarlos attacked his sister in 2022, she instructed NCS. He bit her and broke the hinges of a door, however the sister stated she determined to drop the prices out of concern for his psychological well being points.
“I knew he was battling something,” Tracey Brown stated. But the household struggled to get him assist for his psychological well being.
Their mom had tried to get Brown positioned in a long-term facility, Tracey Brown instructed NCS, however her makes an attempt failed as a result of she wasn’t his guardian.
He instructed his sister a number of occasions the authorities had implanted a chip in him, she stated.
Earlier this yr, Brown requested officers to analyze a “man-made” materials that managed when he ate, walked and talked, courtroom paperwork state. Officers instructed Brown “the issue was a medical issue,” and there was nothing extra they might do. Upset, he referred to as 911. Brown was charged with misuse of 911, a class 1 misdemeanor.
His launch was conditioned on a written promise he would seem for his subsequent listening to, in accordance with courtroom data. The White House stated his launch left him “free to slaughter an innocent woman.”
Tracey Brown believes her brother suffered a disastrous psychological break that night time.
Video of the assault reveals Brown fidgeting and stressed. He nodded his head, then shook it. He sat, with his hood pulled over his lengthy hair, abruptly upright and then slouched ahead to relaxation his head on the seat in entrance of him. Occasionally, he swayed again and forth.
Finally, he attacked Zarutska, who had simply boarded the train minutes prior. Charlotte had been her refuge from the violence overseas, however now Zarutska misplaced her life there.
“It’s very, very sickening and sad that we have such evil in our society today,” Lonnie, the household pal stated.
Brown later instructed his sister he attacked the lady as a result of she was studying his thoughts.
“A person that is hearing voices in their head and believes the world is against them, they’re going to break,” she instructed NCS.
“And I think that night he broke.”