The accused killer of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska has broken his silence from jail. He offered a disturbing explanation for the senseless murder that has shaken Charlotte and beyond.
“I Don’t Even Know the Lady”
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested after fatally stabbing Zarutska, 23, on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 22. The shocking attack, captured on CCTV, showed the young refugee bleeding to death in her seat as horrified passengers looked on.
Now, in audio from a jailhouse call obtained by the Daily Mail, Brown can be heard giving a rambling, paranoid explanation, insisting ‘the materials in his body’ lashed out on Zarutska.
“I hurt my hand stabbing her. I didn’t even know the lady — never said a single word to her. That’s scary, ain’t it? Why would somebody stab someone for no reason?” he said on the August 28 call to his sister, Tracey.
When pressed by her, Brown chillingly added: “They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened. Whoever was working the materials, they lashed out on her… Now they really gotta investigate what my body was exposed to.”
According to his sister Tracey, he had also told family members he stabbed Zarutska because he believed she was reading his mind.
A Family’s Warning
Tracey Brown said her brother has long battled paranoid schizophrenia, convinced the government had implanted a chip in him. She described how his mental health worsened after being released from prison in 2022.
“He didn’t seem like himself,” she told CNN. “He was a high risk, not in his right mind, and unsafe for society. And now an innocent woman is dead.”
Their mother said she had tried to have Brown placed in long-term psychiatric care but couldn’t because she wasn’t his legal guardian.
Missed Red Flags
Brown’s most recent arrest before the killing came on January 19, after he called 911 during a welfare check and claimed a microchip was controlling his brain. According to his arrest affidavit, he wanted police to investigate a ‘man-made material’ inside his body. Officers told him it was a medical issue and charged him with misuse of the 911 system.
On January 21, Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes granted him cashless bail on a written promise to return to court and ordered a psychiatric evaluation. But, according to his sister, the test was pushed back for a year and a half.
“He was seeking help,” Tracey said. “He called 911 multiple times. Instead of talking to him, they thought charging him was going to help.”
A Life Cut Short
While Brown’s family insists the state failed him, Zarutska’s loved ones are left grieving the loss of a young woman who fled war in Ukraine only to be killed on an American train.
Remembered as a creative soul with a love for animals and dreams of becoming a veterinary assistant, her family wrote: “Iryna will be remembered for her kindness, her creativity, and the lasting impression she left on everyone she met.”
As the case moves forward, Brown faces first-degree murder charges in connection with the attack. For many, the chilling jailhouse call only deepens the sense of horror and raises haunting questions about how many warnings were ignored before tragedy struck.
