The man accused in the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train has been slapped with federal charges — and could face the death penalty.
Decarlos Brown Jr., a 34-year-old homeless man with a lengthy criminal history, has been charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Despite having 14 prior criminal cases, Brown was free and living on the street when he pulled out a knife and stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska to death on a commuter light-rail train in South End, Charlotte, on August 22.
The seemingly random attack on Zarutska, who recently fled her war-torn home, was captured on heartbreaking surveillance footage from the light-rail train. Her family said in a GoFundMe that she had been seeking safety and “new beginnings” in America, but that her life was tragically cut short.
Zarutska was left with multiple stab wounds in the attack and died at the scene, authorities said last month.
Brown was arrested and charged with first-degree murder by North Carolina prosecutors. The federal charge that was added on Tuesday carries up to life in prison or the death penalty.
While the death penalty is a possibility for people convicted of first-degree murder in North Carolina, the state has not carried out an execution since 2006 in part due to legal challenges over the use of lethal injection drugs.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the killing was “a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.”
“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 — he will never again see the light of day as a free man,” Bondi said.
He has a lengthy criminal history, including 14 previous court cases in Mecklenburg County, where the city of Charlotte is located. He previously spent six years in a North Carolina prison after convictions for robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, and larceny, WCNC reported.
Following Brown’s release in September 2020, he was arrested again in September 2022 for assault on a female in Mecklenburg County.
He was then arrested again in January 2025 for misusing the 911 system after he allegedly reported police officers for not taking a medical issue seriously. He was arrested and was in court this past July for the case, which will require a forensic evaluator to be appointed to examine his condition.
Brown’s mother told local TV stations that she sought an involuntary psychiatric commitment for her son this year after he became violent at home. Doctors have diagnosed Brown with schizophrenia, according to the Associated Press.
Authorities have not shared a possible motive for the fatal stabbing last month, and the police investigation remains ongoing.
