His sister has also spoken out about Brown’s apparent motive for the attack

THE mother of Decarlos Brown Jr., suspected of stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a commuter train, has made a shocking confession.

Her 34-year-old son, who is an ex-con, has been charged with murdering the 23-year-old in a random attack on a Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina on August 22.

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Iryna Zarutska was brutally stabbed to death in a random attack on a commuter train last monthCredit: AP

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Decarlos Brown has been charged with first-degree murder as his family speak out about his mental health crisesCredit: Reuters

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Shocking CCTV footage captured the frenzied attack that killed the Ukrainian refugeeCredit: Charlotte Area Transit
Horrific CCTV footage captured the brutal attack showing the hooded knifeman, who was behind her, slashing at Zarutska who had her headphones in and was oblivious to what was going on.

She was pronounced dead on the light rail with fatal wounds to her neck and Brown was charged with first degree murder.

President Donald Trump has already called for him to receive the death penalty.

A fundraiser for the pizzeria-worker’s family described how she had “recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning”.

Now, Brown’s mother Michelle Dewitt, has spoken out about her son’s alleged actions, making a shocking confession about his freedom.

“He shouldn’t have been released,” the 51-year-old told The New York Post.

She revealed how her son, who suffers from schizophrenia, should not have been allowed out of prison on a “written promise” that he would return to court following an arrest at the beginning of the year.

He previously served a five-year sentence for armed robbery for which he was released in 2022.

Her son’s mental health was quickly deteriorating, she said, adding that just days before the frenzied attack, she had tried to get him help and took him to a homeless shelter but they were turned away.

Dewitt added that a mental health facility would not let her place him in long-term care with them as she is not his legal guardian.

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Horrific CCTV video released showing moment Ukrainian refugee, 23, was stabbed to death in ‘random attack’ on train
Brown had become increasingly aggressive to Dewitt and her husband, she said, adding, “I think Carlos had an episode,” when he was on the train.

“I’ll let him talk, just listen. I’ll try to explain to him what’s going on. I don’t think he understands what’s happening,” she said on Wednesday as she prepared to visit her son in jail.

She had spoken to Brown on the phone following his arrest and he told her someone was “removing the chip from his brain” that was controlling his actions and that he would soon be free again.

“I think he misunderstood. He said, ‘Mama, I will see you later,’” she said.

Decarlos Brown Jr.’s criminal history

This is a timeline of Decarlos Brown Jr.’s criminal history since 2011

2011-Present: Arrested 14+ times for various crimes such as felony larceny, armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, burglary, shoplifting, assault, making threats/communicating threats, misuse of 911/false emergency calls
2020: Sentenced to prison for felony larceny and armed robbery
2021: Assaulted his sister shortly after release, causing minor injuries
January 2025: Arrested for misusing 911 and claiming man-made substances controlled his body
July 2025: Mental Health evaluation ordered with a schizophrenia diagnosis, but the evaluation was not carried out

Meanwhile, Brown’s sister Tracey Brown, who was assaulted by her older brother in 2022, revealed the depths of her brother’s paranoia and that on the train he simply “broke”.

“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,” she told The Post.

“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.”

DISTURBED RAMBLINGS

Audio of his warped jail ramblings, first obtained by the Daily Mail, has captured the desperate state of his mental health.

In a recording of a phone call with his sister six days after the stabbing, he told Tracey he had been forced to kill Zarutska by “the material in his body”.

“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?” he was recorded saying.

His sister 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?”

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Brown’s family say they were left shocked and horrified after watching the videoCredit: Charlotte Area Transit

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Zarutska’s boyfriend Stanislav ‘Stas’ Nikulytsia has slammed authorities for letting Brown walk free after his arrest in JanuaryCredit: Instagram/nstanilsav

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A makeshift memorial for the 23-year-old UkrainianCredit: Getty
“They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened,” Brown replied.

“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.”

Meanwhile, during in-person visits he has also accused his sister and mother of conspiring against him, she said.

“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.'”

“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.”

Both Brown’s mother and sister have called on Trump to be lenient towards him following calls for the death penalty, highlighting his mental health struggles and failed attempts to get help.

“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,” Tracey said.

Zarutska’s boyfriend, Stanislav “Stas” Nikulytsia, 21, has spoken out about his heartache at her senseless murder and has directed his anger at the authorities who let Brown walk free in January.

He called Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who freed Brown on cashless bail seven months before the attack, “unqualified” and accused the justice system of enabling violent repeat offenders.

Trump’s statement on Zarutska’s death

“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic.

“The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES.

“What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.

“The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and “Wannabe Senator” Roy Cooper.

“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it! Additionally, where is the outrage from the Mainstream Media on this horrible tragedy? VOTE FOR MICHAEL WHATLEY FOR UNITED STATES SENATE, HE WON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!”