🚨 A HEART-WRENCHING UPDATE in the Charlotte Train Tragedy… 🚨
Imagine fleeing war-torn Ukraine for a fresh start in America, only to have your dreams shattered in an instant. That’s the story of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a vibrant artist and animal lover who was building a new life here—until a random act on public transit changed everything. Now, newly surfaced audio from the suspect’s jail call offers a glimpse into his troubled mindset, filled with confusing claims that leave more questions than answers. What could have driven this? How did the system miss the signs? It’s a story that highlights the urgent need for better mental health support and public safety measures. 😔 This isn’t just about one event—it’s about preventing future heartbreak for families everywhere. If you’re as moved by Iryna’s journey as I am, dive deeper into the details and let’s discuss how we can make a difference. What do you think could help? 👇 Share your thoughts and click below to learn more.
Accused killer Decarlos Brown Jr. told his family he stabbed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on board a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, because he believed she was reading his mind, his sister has claimed — as his chilling words from jail are revealed.
Tracey Brown, who was assaulted by her older brother in a 2022 attack that saw him bite her and break a door, said he is a paranoid schizophrenic who told her multiple times that the government had implanted a chip in him.
“When I saw the video, I automatically knew he — and I hate to say it because she didn’t deserve it — but he had come to some breaking point,” Brown told The Post.
Surveillance video released by the Charlotte Area Transit System shows Iryna Zarutska reacting to being stabbed by Decarlos Brown Jr. on a light-rail train in Charlotte, Aug. 22, 2025.Charlotte CATS
Brown “broke” the night he killed Iryna Zarutska, according to his sister.AP
“I just tried to wrap my mind around. Why would he do this? Like, this is not him. And the only thing that I could think of is he just… broke. He couldn’t take it anymore,” she said.
Disturbing audio of Brown’s phone conversation with his sister from jail captures his rambling explanation for why he attacked the innocent woman. Brown can be heard telling his sister that “the material in his body” had forced him to kill Iryna, according to audio from a call made on Aug. 28, six days after the murder.
Brown’s sister said she had gone along on Aug. 28 to speak to her brother, and then on two more recent occasions, including a face-to-face visit and one over video, because she wanted to understand why he had carried out this horrific act.
Tracey said that in a subsequent visit with her brother in the past week, he made threats against her and her mother, accusing them of being part of a conspiracy against him.
“When I went to visit him, he was mumbling and talking to himself,” Tracey told The Post. 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.’”
Saying she was “surprised and shocked” by the news, she said that when she first heard, “
I said, it had to be an altercation. It had to be, it had to be self-defense.”
“He said he was on his way to the hospital, the mental hospital… I just wanted to know why her, because he had been on the train for a while before she got on. And he said, well, she was reading my mind. He said she was reading my thoughts.”
“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. Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason?” Brown is heard saying in the audio, which was first obrained by the Daily Mail.
Tracey then asks, “Out of all people, why her? She’s from the Ukraine, she’s from Russia, and they had a war going on against the United States, so I’m just trying to understand, of all people, why her?”
Brown responds: “They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened. Whoever was working the materials, they lashed out on her. That’s all there is to it. Now they really gotta investigate what my body was exposed to … Now they gotta do an investigation as to who was the motive behind what happened.”
Decarlos Brown Jr. claimed he believed Zarutska could read his mind, according to his sister.via REUTERS
Tracey’s mother told The Post she tried to get Brown placed in a long-term mental care facility, but couldn’t because she wasn’t his legal guardian, she said.
Tracey said her brother’s behavior deteriorated after he was freed from prison in 2022 following a five-year sentence for armed robbery.
“He didn’t seem like himself,” she said, describing how he struggled to hold conversations and became aggressive, failing to hold down a regular job.
Brown was failed by his family as well as by the state, Tracey told The Post.
“I feel like family first and foremost just gave up on him for their personal selfish reasons,” she said.
Brown’s second-most recent arrest on Jan. 19 came after he called 911 during a welfare check, telling cops that he believed his brain was being controlled by a microchip.
“Brown wanted officers to investigate this ‘man-made’ material that was inside of his body,” his arrest affidavit reads.
“Officers advised Brown that the issue was a medical issue and that there was nothing further they could do,” the affidavit states, at which point Brown flew into a rage and was arrested and charged with “misuse of the 911 system.”
At a Jan. 21 hearing, Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes was told about Brown’s case, but granted him cashless bail on a “written promise” that he would show up to a future court date.
“He did call 911, trying to express what he was dealing with. Of course, no one can understand or agree, [but] he was reaching out for help in a lot of ways. And I’m not making any excuses for him. Except to say he was mentally ill. That’s all I can say, he’s mentally ill,” Tracey Brown said.
Tracey said she now fears being the victim of a retaliation attack as a result of her brother’s actions.
“I’m thinking people may recognize me, want to attack me, recognize that I’m his sister… And it’s really got me in shock. And then I started thinking about, you know, what if somebody runs up and, you know, has an episode or whatever and wants to hurt me?” she said.
Tracey also called on President Trump to spare her brother the death penalty, describing how her brother had been traveling “back and forth” from hospitals and mental health appointments for three years struggling to get seen.
“[Authorities turned a blind eye to it because they just figured, oh, well, it’s drugs or I don’t know. They didn’t take it seriously. So before they say, well, death penalty, why not look into how he has been dealing with this for three years since he’s been home from prison, and he actually was fighting and trying to get help before he broke,” she said.
