NC - Iryna Zarutska, 23, slain on Commuter Rail Line, Charlotte - Some Content may be Graphic - Aug 22, 2025 *Arrest*

[rob525]

I am not buying the mental illness argument. Certainly there is some level of mental illness and it played a factor. I think there has to be some level of that illness in most crimes where one human being took the life of another but, as in most cases, he knew exactly what he was doing.

It is no coincidence that he chose to attack the one person that was A.) female and B.) not very large and C.) white and D.) paying attention to her phone ( not sure if she also had earbuds in) and E.) She also had her back to him making her extremely vulnerable.

I also wonder how much the family tried to get /keep him locked away prior to this. Sure, the mother is saying all the right things now, but, I wonder what her opinion was before the TV cameras showed up at her front door. We already know the sister did not pursue charges that could have effected his incarceration status.

 

[Chimera]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/us/video/van-jones-the-right-is-race-mongering-in-light-rail-murder

On CNNMonday, Van Jones said we 'don’t know why that man did what he did,' adding that 'this man is hurting.'

My .02 is that it's too early to say at this time that it was not a racially motivated slaying ?
I disagree with Van Jones and it looks as if he is using this poor woman's death for his own gain ?
The murderer is indeed sick but I also think Iryna's family is hurting even more.

They will never see her sunny smile or hear her voice, or get to give her a hug !
And from earlier posts it sounds like she had a boyfriend she was returning home to see ?

It's a failure of the court system who should have kept him locked up without the 'written promise'.
It's a failure on behalf of his hurting mother who knew he wasn't well.

And most of all it's a failure of DeCarlos Brown who chose to do what he did... regardless of reason.
He knew enough to sneak away and to change his shirt.
That alone tells me he understood right from wrong.

He may be locked up for the remainder of his life and it's a travesty that it took the death of this young Ukrainian lady to ensure this happens.
Imo.

 

[Chimera]

I am not buying the mental illness argument. Certainly there is some level of mental illness and it played a factor. I think there has to be some level of that illness in most crimes where one human being took the life of another but, as in most cases, he knew exactly what he was doing.

It is no coincidence that he chose to attack the one person that was A.) female and B.) not very large and C.) white and D.) paying attention to her phone ( not sure if she also had earbuds in) and E.) She also had her back to him making her extremely vulnerable.

I also wonder how much the family tried to get /keep him locked away prior to this. Sure, the mother is saying all the right things now, but, I wonder what her opinion was before the TV cameras showed up at her front door. We already know the sister did not pursue charges that could have effected his incarceration status.

Bbm.
Valid points made.
Maybe too protective of the perp ?
And Iryna paid for this with her life.
Imo.

 

[Elley Mae]

I am not buying the mental illness argument. Certainly there is some level of mental illness and it played a factor. I think there has to be some level of that illness in most crimes where one human being took the life of another but, as in most cases, he knew exactly what he was doing.

It is no coincidence that he chose to attack the one person that was A.) female and B.) not very large and C.) white and D.) paying attention to her phone ( not sure if she also had earbuds in) and E.) She also had her back to him making her extremely vulnerable.

I also wonder how much the family tried to get /keep him locked away prior to this. Sure, the mother is saying all the right things now, but, I wonder what her opinion was before the TV cameras showed up at her front door. We already know the sister did not pursue charges that could have effected his incarceration status.

Right from A thru E, same conclusion i see in the photo.

 

[Melsworld]

View attachment 613753

There were 5 other people sitting by him. Something specifically about her must have triggered his mental illness.

For some reason the "material" didn't make him do it to the others. These are the same people that ignored her and filmed her dying. One of those in the back literally jumped over the guy that eventually came to help her. Sickening.

 

[outback]

I wonder if he was self medicating? If he was mentally ill and doing drugs , it definitely could have made his psychosis worse.

Will definitely be watching this story. Jmo

 

[arielilane]

Iryna Zarutska’s family speaks out after Ukrainian refugee slaughtered on train: ‘No family should have to go through this’ https://trib.al/81SoWFy

https://twitter.com/x/status/1965589945470378196

Haskell, Zarutska’s aunt through marriage, said the 23-year-old’s mother, Anna, is struggling the most over her daughter’s brutal murder.

She’s so distraught over losing Zarutska that she’s hunkered down at her home in Ukraine as she battles to come to terms with the death, her aunt said.

Iryna Zarutska’s family speaks out after Ukrainian refugee was slaughtered on train: ‘No family should have to go through this’

Sept 9

 

[Chimera]

Shattered boyfriend of slain Ukrainian woman speaks out

Heartbroken boyfriend Stas Nikulytsia has spoken of his anguish after the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska, 23, on a train in North Carolina.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Some lovely pics of the pair at the link.
Can't blame her heartbroken partner for being angry; imo.
My utmost condolences to Stas, and Iryna's mom, Anna, and her siblings Valeria and Bohdan; as well as her other relatives.
The perp should not have been walking free !
Omo.

 

[Missing Susan]

I don't think the attack had anything to do with being "white".

The victim sat in front of him.
She was the closest to him in the whole carriage.
She had a phone.

He later said she "was reading his mind"
(was close & had a phone (antenna)
which - in his sick mind - was enough to trigger the paranoid attack.
He was observing her and lunged suddenly.

This was my theory from the start when I read about his illness.
It can be lethal when NOT treated.

Mixing this crime with racism seems to me politically motivated.
An agenda.

JMO

Shouldn't an utterance from the heat of the moment carry more weight than an explanation or rationalization formulated after the fact?

To whom was he addressing the "that white girl" comment to? Doesn't the comment illustrate that the victim was "other" to him specifically and to the overall milieu generally?

 

[Poedelini]

This case and the charlie kirk assasination made me want to fully disconnect from the internet and live in my own bubble. It is gruesome and devastating to watch them being murdered for the whole world to see. Iryna will live rent free in my mind forever. As all other victims of violent crime, you deserved so much more. Thinking about her family and friends who have to live with all the images and videos on the internet forever. My heart goes out to them.

May the perp be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

 

[katydid23]

Lots of people get stabbed every day.

Sure. Lots of stabbings. But usually they involve ex-husbands, or crazy jealous girlfriends, carjackings , armed robberies at midnight, serial rapists----those sorts of circumstances.

I’m not sure why anyone in a newsroom would think special attention for this specific case would be profitable outside of a little bit of good keyword SEO (Ukraine + subway/metro train + crime + mental health = you might get 4 cents per click instead of just 2).

So the issue is MONEY? Iryna's brutal murder was not looking profitable enough to report?

wow. That's pretty jaded.

I don't think that is the real issue. JMO

 

[damnitmyradio]

We need asylums.
Programs aren’t working

Unfortunately, I think I agree with this.
I hate that, when I saw the video, I thought, "Well, I wouldn't have sat in front of a guy like that." Living in cities, I'm relatively used to seeing crazy guys on the train, and I always attempt to sit as far away as possible. But it's not Iryna's fault that she didn't do that. She couldn't have known.
But it does tell me that the issue of crime on public transit is very big in the US right now, and I genuinely believe there isn't another way to solve it

 

[damnitmyradio]

We need asylums.
Programs aren’t working

Unfortunately, I think I agree with this.
I hate that, when I saw the video, I thought, "Well, I wouldn't have sat in front of a guy like that." Living in cities, I'm relatively used to seeing crazy guys on the train, and I always attempt to sit as far away as possible. But it's not Iryna's fault that she didn't do that. She couldn't have known.
But it does tell me that the issue of crime on public transit is very big in the US right now, and I genuinely believe there isn't another way to solve it. There are just SO many people. Like, enough to have one in every subway car. This is ridiculous.

 

[arielilane]

As promised, I just introduced the JAIL Act to hold corrupt judges accountable for releasing repeat offenders back onto our streets.To the judges who released Decarlos Brown Jr.: You are the reason another innocent life was lost, and you will be held accountable for your reckless actions.This is only the beginning. We’re going to fix our justice system that prioritizes criminals over victims.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1966598674449842214

 

[arielilane]

Timestamp 0:43
Claudia Davis is the founder of Moms Ain't Playin,
an organization she started to demand change in the legal system
after her son was murdered six years ago.

We've been fighting with legislation since 2019.
To stop Bonds, to ensure that they never get out of jail.

Davis organized the vigil for Zarutska to let her family know they're not alone.


Timestamp 1:23
Other mothers and grandmothers whose loved ones
were murdered spoke during the vigil.
Mia Alderman knows firsthand what the family is going through.
WCNC Charlotte spoke with her when her granddaughter was
stabbed more than 130 times 5 years ago.

-- I -- do know how her family feels
that she was stabbed to death and died,
and it's never ever going to end.
It's never going to go away.

 

[Chimera]

@arielilane ; Thank you for sharing this !
Made me tear up.
Bless Claudia and Mia.
My utmost condolences to them for their horrific loss.

 

[Chimera]

Ukrainian refugee 'killer' has sick link to a member of his family

Graphic, nightmarish video captured the terror in Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska's eyes as she cowered from the man who had just attacked her.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Both of DeCarlos' siblings and their bio dad have criminal records.
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

Ukrainian refugee 'killer' has sick link to a member of his family

Graphic, nightmarish video captured the terror in Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska's eyes as she cowered from the man who had just attacked her.

www.dailymail.co.uk

And haunting parallels have emerged between Brown's alleged crimes and those of his younger brother Stacey Dejon Brown.

Court records and police reports show Stacey - one year Brown's junior - is currently serving a 36-year sentence in state prison for the 2012 murder of a 65-year-old man.
Brown's sister Tracey Vontrea Brown - Stacey's twin - has also had several brushes with the law.

In 2022, Brown allegedly assaulted his younger sister inside her home, not long after being released from prison.
'I understood what he was going through and I knew that he just needed to talk about it.'
Rbm.
At some point some people have shown by their actions, that they're past the point of being able to be helped by talking about it.
More prison time might have been needed after Decarlos was attacking his own family members.
Imo.

 

[Kakidoll]

I am aware this has been one crazy month so far with the amount of crimes, but i must say the lack of people who even KNOW about this blows my mind. I know the people here are the only ones to understand where i'm coming from.

 

[arielilane]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A grand jury has indicted Decarlos Brown Jr. for the murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed in late August while riding the Charlotte light rail.

The indictment, handed down on September 15, formally charges Brown with first-degree murder. He is accused of stabbing Zarutska on Aug. 22, while both were on the CATS Blue Line.

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/charlotte/decarlos-brown-jr-indicted-in-killing-of-iryna-zarutska-on-charlotte-light-rail/

Sept 17

If Brown does not request a formal arraignment within 21 days of receiving the indictment, a not guilty plea will be entered on his behalf by the court. At this time, Brown has not entered a plea.