The sicko accused of brutally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a train in North Carolina last month has been charged with a federal crime, the Justice Department and FBI said Tuesday.
Decarlos Brown Jr, 34, is now charged with one federal count of causing death on a mass transit system. This is in addition to the first-degree murder charge he faces in state court for allegedly killing Zarutska in a stabbing captured on video.
“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,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday.
“I have instructed 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 punishment for this heinous crime, and he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
FBI Director Kash Patel condemned the brutal stabbing as “a disgraceful act that should never happen in America.”
“The FBI jumped to assist in this investigation immediately to ensure justice is served, and the perpetrator is never released from jail to kill again,” according to his statement.
Disturbing surveillance footage showed Zarutska looking up in horror as she was repeatedly stabbed from behind with what prosecutors described as a pocket knife while riding the Lynx Blue Line train on August 22.
Police later called the attack “seemingly unprovoked.”
She sought refuge in the United States in 2022, after Russian invaders launched a bloody war on her home country.
Zarutska worked at a local pizzeria called Zepeddie’s Pizza at the time of her death, and she can be seen wearing her work attire on security camera footage during the horrific stabbing.
Brown, a 34-year-old homeless man, had been arrested at least 14 times in North Carolina since 2007, for offenses ranging from assault to robbery to illegal firearms possession, according to records reviewed by The Post.
That included a stint in jail for armed robbery in 2014, from which he was released in September 2020, followed by another five months in jail for assaulting his sister.
Brown was recently arrested after making a false call to the police, claiming he was given “man-made” drugs that controlled his talking, eating, and walking, according to court documents.
When police arrived on the scene and told him they couldn’t help, he became enraged and called 911 again, prompting the arrest.
Magistrate Teresa Stokes released him on cashless bail two days later, with a written promise to appear at his next court date.
On July 28, a judge ordered him to undergo a forensic evaluation.
Following the attack that killed Zarutska, Brown’s mother claimed that her son was schizophrenic and argued that he should not have been allowed to roam the streets, according to an interview with local TV station WSOC.
Brown is accused of cheating the system by taking public transportation without paying the fare.
The slaughter of Zarutska has sparked national attention, including from the White House, as President Trump launches a crime crackdown in Washington, DC and considers other cities across the country.
