Murder of Ukrainian refugee in US: killer faces death sentence

The US Department of Justice has charged Decarlos Brown, 34, in the high-profile killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska. She died from stab wounds inflicted by the man on public transport in North Carolina. The suspected killer faces federal charges in addition to state-level charges.

Source: Reuters

Details: While both sets of charges carry the possibility of the death penalty, North Carolina has not executed anyone since 2006, whereas the federal government carried out a death sentence in 2021.

Iryna Zarutska had moved to the US with her mother, sister and brother following Russia’s full-scale invasion, CNN reports. She worked at a pizzeria and aspired to become a veterinary assistant.

At the end of August, she was stabbed multiple times at a train station in Charlotte and died at the scene. 

US media later released video footage of the attack, showing Iryna entering a train car and sitting directly in front of the suspect. The Ukrainian refugee was wearing a T-shirt from her workplace and looking at her phone.

Approximately four and a half minutes later, the man, identified by police as Decarlos Brown, pulled a knife from his pocket. He then grabbed the seat handle in front of him with one hand while striking Iryna with the other.

Brown, a homeless man with a prior criminal record, has been arrested in connection with the case. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to armed robbery and served six years in prison.

Earlier this year, he was charged with misusing emergency services after claiming to police that someone had inserted "artificial material" into his body to control him.

Brown’s mother told local media that she had previously had her son involuntarily hospitalised after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following the killing, he was placed in a psychiatric facility for at least 60 days for evaluation.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly cited Zarutska’s murder to criticise Democratic policies, claiming that they contributed to rising crime that led to her death.

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