CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Officials filed federal charges Tuesday in the grisly slaying of a young woman on a Charlotte light rail train that has become a political lightning rod across the country where she had come to seek safety.
Iryna Zarutska fled Ukraine in 2022 with her mother, sister, and brother to escape the war with Russia “and she quickly embraced her new life in the United States,” her obituary states.
The 23-year-old brimmed with potential. The talented artist quickly became fluent in English, found work at a pizzeria and dreamed of becoming a veterinary assistant – until a man sitting behind her on the train stabbed her three times in the throat, for no apparent reason.
The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, is a repeat criminal offender now facing a federal charge for committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, after Zarutska was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack August 22 inside a light rail car. Brown also has been charged in North Carolina with first-degree murder.
CNN has reached out to Brown’s attorney for comment. Brown was homeless and had a long criminal record and, according to his family, a history of mental health issues.
The Democratic mayor, Vi Lyles, blamed “a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates” and called for improved mental health care to help prevent tragedies involving those in crisis.
Lyles on Tuesday won the Democratic primary in the race for her fifth two-year term, CNN projected late Tuesday. She faces a Republican and Libertarian in November. The city has had a Democratic mayor for the past 16 years.
Republicans accused Lyles and the criminal justice system of being soft on crime. They said a man with Brown’s record shouldn’t have been on the streets at all.
The debate simmers against the backdrop of the Trump administration vowing to fight crime by deploying federal troops in predominantly Democratic cities.
Now, members of the North Carolina GOP and 12th congressional district Republicans will speak at a joint news conference Wednesday to “bring light to the failure of Charlotte’s Democrat leadership … to ensure public safety following the preventable murder” of Zarutska, the Mecklenburg County Republican Party said.
Here’s what we know about the case polarizing opinion across the country.
Suspect said he killed his victim ‘because she was reading my mind,’ his sister says
For years, loved ones struggled to find him the care he needed, family members said.
Brown had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia, his sister Tracey Brown said. She said her brother told her multiple times the government had implanted a chip in him.
“I knew he was battling something, but I wanted to know what it was,” she said.
Brown was sometimes aggressive and attacked his sister in 2022, Tracey Brown told CNN. Though her brother was arrested that night, she decided to drop the charges out of concern for her brother’s mental health issues.
But it wasn’t Brown’s only run-in with the law. He has several convictions on his record, including for armed robbery, felony larceny and breaking and entering.
Brown spent more than five years behind bars for robbery with a dangerous weapon, state records show.
After he was released in 2020, he “didn’t seem like himself” and struggled to hold conversations and jobs, his sister told CNN.
Their mother had tried to get him placed in a long-term facility, Tracey Brown told CNN, but her attempts failed because she wasn’t his guardian.
Tracey Brown said she talked to her brother after his arrest and asked him why he attacked the woman on the train.
“Because she was reading my mind,” he told her.
His January release stokes controversy
Earlier this year, Brown was charged with misuse of 911, a class 1 misdemeanor, after he allegedly asked officers to investigate a “man-made” material that controlled when he ate, walked and talked, court documents state.
Officers told Brown “the issue was a medical issue,” and there was nothing more they could do. Brown became upset and called 911, the records state.
A condition of his release was his written promise to appear for his next hearing, according to court records. The White House said his release left him “free to slaughter an innocent woman just months later.”
The family expressed their dismay on Tuesday.
“We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way,” said a family spokesperson in a statement that also called on city officials to address public safety failures and enact reforms.
CNN has reached out to Brown’s public defender, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office and the magistrate judge who ordered his release for comment.
Even though Charlotte’s mid-year stats show a 25% decrease in violent crime compared to the same time last year, President Donald Trump said North Carolina needs “law and order.”
“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it!,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Officials spar over who’s to blame
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles criticized the court system and pledged to improve public safety on transit.
“We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets,” Lyles wrote.
She announced increased security and law enforcement presence on Charlotte public transit in response to the killing.
But Trump administration officials criticized the mayor, including her stated gratitude to those who chose not to share the gruesome video footage of the killing.
“Charlotte’s Mayor doesn’t want the media to show you the ugly truth. Why? Because she and other public officials in her city bear responsibility,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, posted about the stabbing on social media and blasted major media organizations for what he described as a lack of coverage.
Duffy said he’s investigating the possibility of cutting federal funding from Charlotte’s light rail system.
“I can’t pull money today from their transit system,” Duffy told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday.
“We start that investigation tomorrow, and I guarantee all your viewers that if I find what I think I’m going to find, they are not going to have your federal tax dollars going to their public transportation system.”
The victim fled war and was killed in her adopted country
Zarutska graduated from Synergy College in Kyiv with a degree in art and restoration, her obituary states.
“She shared her creativity generously, gifting family and friends with her artwork. She loved sculpting and designing unique, eclectic clothing that reflected her vibrant spirit.”
Zarutska “also had a deep love for animals” and wanted to become a veterinary assistant. “She often cared for her neighbors’ pets, and many fondly remember seeing her walking them through the neighborhood, always with her radiant smile,” the tribute states.
She attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College from 2023 to 2025, a spokesperson told CNN. “We are heartbroken to hear about the death of one of our former students, Iryna Zarutska, whose life was taken in this tragic event,” the spokesperson said.
She was also a beloved coworker at Zepeddie’s Pizzeria.
“We lost not only an incredible employee, but a true friend,” the restaurant posted on social media. “Iryna, we miss you more than words can say.”
Despite the horrors of war in her home country, Zarutska “just had a heart of gold,” a family friend told CNN affiliate WCNC.
“She was always very helpful, very supportive,” said the friend, identified only as Lonnie. “She was a sweetheart. And it makes me sick to think that she’s gone.”
Lonnie described the daily bombing in Zarutska endured in Ukraine and the agony of not knowing “if you’re going to live or breathe another day.”
But no one expected Zarutska to die so young in Charlotte.
“It’s very, very sickening and sad that we have such evil in our society today,” Lonnie said.
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CNN’s Mia Blackman, Sophia Peyser and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.
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Note: Featured video is from a previous report.
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