The suspect accused of taking a Ukrainian refugee's life on a North Carolina train spoke to his sister from jail, offering a disturbing explanation for his actions.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, is in police custody after fatally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train on August 22.
Authorities said the two did not know each other before the attack.
Decarlos Brown Jr., accused of fatally injuring Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, spoke to his sister from jail
Image credits: Mecklenburg Sheriff
Video footage shows Brown sitting behind Zarutska before pulling a knife and stabbing her multiple times.
Brown was charged with first-degree m*rder and faces federal charges for committing an act causing d*ath on a mass transportation system.
In recorded conversations with his sister Tracey Brown, Decarlos Brown Jr. claimed that he believed foreign “materials” in his body, planted by the government, controlled his actions.
“I hurt my hand, stabbing her. I don’t even know the lady. I never said not one word to the lady at all. That’s scary, ain’t it?” he said to his sister on August 28, six days after the murder.
“Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason? I feel like the material used in my body stabbed the lady,” he continued.
“You know, that is not me, I’m talking just for no reason? But since they did that, now they got to investigate the materials in my body exposed to.”
Brown added that he was going to the hospital to have the material in his body removed to “stop going crazy.”
Tracey Brown said her brother had been struggling with paranoid schizophrenia.
Image credits: Instagram/ Iryna Zarutska
She told media outlets that she had attempted to get him admitted to hospitals due to his deteriorating mental health over the years, but he was often released within 24 hours.
“I strongly feel like he should not have been on the streets at all,” she said. “When you have mentally ill people seeking help, and you’re running tests on them, and you clearly see that you are dealing with a psychosis on an acute level, you do not let them go back into society,” she added.
Tracey Brown continued, “He was a high risk. He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society. We know what he has been dealing with the last three years and now an innocent woman is d*ad.”
Tracey Brown also recalled past violent behavior by her brother, including an assault against her in 2022, where he bit her and broke a door.
She added that in one of the recent visits to her brother in jail, he made threats against Tracey Brown and her mother, accusing them of being part of a conspiracy against him.
Image credits: Mecklenburg Sheriff
“When I went to visit him, he was mumbling and talking to himself,” Tracey told The New York Post.
She recalled: “And I said, ‘Well, what’s on your mind?’ He looked at me and he was like, ‘I have to get you to.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean you have to get me?’ He said, ‘You and mama. Y’all are being trafficked.’ And I said, ‘Well, how are we being trafficked?’ And he said, ‘The government is trafficking y’all to get to me.’”
Brown’s criminal record includes at least 14 previous cases in Mecklenburg County, including a six-year sentence for robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, and larceny.
He was arrested in January for “misuse of the 911 system,” when he reportedly told cops that “man-made” materials inside him were controlling his body. He was released on the same day.
Brown’s criminal record includes at least 14 previous cases
Image credits: X
The incident has brought a spotlight on the justice system and how mental health issues are dealt with in the U.S.
“I'm going to be honest. I’m not blaming anyone for his actions, except for the state. I’m blaming the state for letting him down as far as seeking help,” Tracey Brown said.
Brown’s half-brother, Jeremiah, also told The New York Post, “I think they could have pretty much prevented it then [Brown’s release from jail in January]. He could do it again. They should still treat him for his mental issues, but there are consequences for his actions.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, too, criticized the justice system for releasing Brown and called for strict consequences.
Video of the attack shows Zarutska slouching in her seat and covering her face as Brown walks away. She was pronounced d*ad at the scene.
Authorities continue to investigate the case. Brown remains in jail, and if convicted, he could face the de*th penalty.