Iryna Zarutska’s family demands justice in first statement since ‘horrific’ stabbing

Video shows Ukrainian refugee killed by man with 14 prior arrests while riding Charlotte light rail home from work

The family of Iryna Zarutska has released a statement for the first time since their loved one was brutally killed on a North Carolina light rail train, demanding justice and sweeping public safety reforms.

In a statement shared through their attorney, the family described her as a “kind and hardworking young woman, deeply loved by her family and friends.”

The family said they are devastated by her sudden loss and want the man accused of killing the 23-year-old to remain behind bars.

Iryna Zarutska, 23, was killed when taking a train in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 22, 2025. (@lucaveros225/Instagram; WBTV;  Evgeniya Rush/GoFundMe)

“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,” the statement reads. “No family should have to go through this.”

They said their immediate priority is ensuring accountability for Zarutska’s murder and stressed the case underscores a larger crisis in public safety.

“This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night… We are committed to making sure this never happens again.”

Zarutska, a refugee from Ukraine, was heading home from her job at a pizzeria when Decarlos Brown Jr., a man with a history of mental illness and more than a dozen arrests, fatally stabbed her in a random attack, gruesome surveillance footage shows.

The ruthless killing has shocked the nation and fueled further criticism of blue-city policies that critics argue are soft on crime.

Brown has a history of mental illness and was arrested 14 times over the past 12 years, according to police records. He was arrested soon after the stabbing and charged with first-degree murder with the Department of Justice on Tuesday charging Brown with an additional count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.

Mugshot of Decarlos Brown Jr., left, and surveillance image from the Charlotte Blue Line showing Brown on the train shortly before the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; CATS)

The Zarutska family kept their statement focused on transit security, calling for a full investigation into potential lapses in safety protocols and failures within the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).

They said her murder highlights a systemic breakdown in transit security and pointed to a lack of visible or effective security on the Blue Line, failures of oversight in the contract between CATS and its private security provider, and the absence of safety measures that they said could have prevented the attack.

The Zarutska family called on Charlotte city officials to publicly address transit security failures and enact reforms. They also want advocates and allies to join them in demanding justice and long-term change.

Zarutska had fled war for safety and opportunity in the United States and had been building a new life in Charlotte — working at a pizzeria and studying English at community college. (GoFundMe)

Zarutska had fled war for safety and opportunity in the United States and had been building a new life in Charlotte — working at a pizzeria and studying English at community college.

“That night, she texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon,” the statement reads.

“Tragically, her journey ended in violence near the Camden light rail station. Her loved ones became alarmed when she did not arrive to her apartment at the anticipated time and her phone’s location alerted them that she was still at the station. Upon arriving at the station, they were devastated to learn that Iryna had died at the scene.”

The family also urged the public and media to respect Zarutska’s dignity and their grief by not reposting or circulating the footage of her killing.

EXCLUSIVE: The Last Text Message Iryna Zarutska Sent to Her Mother Simply Read: “I’m Coming Home.” But Phone Data Shows the Message Was Sent from a Completely Different Location…

In the quiet suburbs of Huntersville, North Carolina, Anna Zarutska still clutches her daughter’s phone, a silent relic of a life cut short. On August 22, 2025, at 11:47 p.m., a simple text lit up her screen: “I’m coming home.” It was from Iryna, her 23-year-old daughter, the vibrant Ukrainian refugee who had escaped the horrors of war to chase the American dream. Anna smiled, relieved that Iryna’s late shift at the pizzeria had ended safely. But what happened next would shatter that illusion. Phone records, obtained exclusively by this outlet through a source close to the investigation, reveal a chilling discrepancy: the message wasn’t sent from the light rail train where Iryna boarded for her journey home. Instead, the signal pinged from a remote industrial area miles away, near an abandoned warehouse district in west Charlotte. What does this mean? Was Iryna’s phone in someone else’s hands? Or is there more to the story of her brutal stabbing death than meets the eye?

Iryna Zarutska’s story is one of resilience and heartbreaking loss. Born on May 22, 2002, in Kyiv, Ukraine, she grew up in a close-knit family amid the escalating tensions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With a degree in art and restoration from Synergy College, Iryna was a talented artist, sketching portraits for friends and restoring old family heirlooms. Her mother, Anna, recalls Iryna’s gentle nature: “She was our light. Even during the bombings, she would draw pictures to make us smile.” In August 2022, six months after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Zarutskas fled their homeland. Iryna, along with Anna, her younger sister, and brother, boarded a flight to the United States, sponsored by distant relatives in North Carolina. They settled in Huntersville, a peaceful community north of Charlotte, where Iryna quickly adapted to her new life.

America represented hope for Iryna. She enrolled at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to hone her English skills and pursued her passion for animals, dreaming of becoming a veterinary assistant. “She loved pets like they were her own children,” her uncle, Scott Haskell, told reporters in an emotional interview. Iryna took on odd jobs—babysitting neighborhood kids, walking dogs, and working at an assisted living facility—before landing a position at Zepeddie’s Pizzeria in Charlotte’s South End. There, she rose from server to line cook, her work ethic earning praise from colleagues. She was learning to drive, saving for her first car, and even had a boyfriend who promised to take her on her inaugural road trip. “The last three years were the best of her life,” Haskell said. “She fell in love with the American dream.”

But on that fateful night, the dream turned to nightmare. Iryna finished her shift around 11:30 p.m. and boarded the Blue Line light rail at the Scaleybark station, still in her khaki pants, dark shirt, and pizzeria hat, her long blonde hair tucked away. Surveillance footage, later released and widely circulated despite family pleas to stop sharing it, shows her sitting alone, engrossed in her phone. Four minutes into the ride, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., a 34-year-old man with a troubled history, sat behind her. Dressed in a red sweatshirt, Brown suddenly pulled out a knife. Without provocation, he lunged, stabbing Iryna multiple times in the face and throat. She clutched her wounds, gasping, before collapsing. Passengers rushed to her aid, but she succumbed to her injuries on the train. Brown fled but was apprehended shortly after.

The attack sent shockwaves through Charlotte and beyond. Brown, who had a lengthy criminal record including armed robbery, felony larceny, and breaking and entering, was charged with first-degree murder by local authorities and faced federal charges for causing death on a mass transportation system. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Brown had a history of hallucinations, paranoia, and homelessness. His sister, Tracey Brown, later revealed he believed Iryna was “reading his mind,” a delusion that triggered the unprovoked assault. Despite multiple arrests, the justice system had released him repeatedly, citing mental health evaluations that deemed him non-threatening. Critics, including President Donald Trump, seized on the case to decry “soft-on-crime” policies in Democrat-led cities, calling for federal intervention.

Amid the political firestorm, the Zarutska family grieves privately. Anna, who watched her daughter’s funeral via FaceTime from Ukraine—her husband, Stanislav, unable to leave due to wartime restrictions—has been vocal about her pain. In a handwritten letter shared with family friends, she described Iryna’s “smile that lit up the small kitchen,” choking back tears as she recounted their last conversation. But the text message—“I’m coming home”—haunts her most. Sent at 11:47 p.m., it arrived just 13 minutes before the stabbing, timestamped at approximately 12:00 a.m. on the train. Yet, cell tower data and GPS metadata, reviewed by our source, indicate the phone connected to a tower in the 28216 ZIP code, an industrial zone near the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, over five miles from the train route. This area is dotted with derelict warehouses and low-traffic roads—far from the bustling South End corridor where Iryna boarded.

What could explain this anomaly? Investigators, speaking off the record, suggest possibilities ranging from a phone glitch to deliberate tampering. Iryna’s phone was recovered at the scene, clutched in her hand, but its battery was nearly drained, and location services were active. Could someone have accessed it briefly before the attack? Or did Brown, in his delusional state, interact with the device? Brown’s family denies any such involvement, insisting the stabbing was a spontaneous act of madness. “He wasn’t in his right mind,” his mother, Michelle Dewitt, said in a tearful interview. Yet, the discrepancy raises questions about the timeline. Witnesses confirm Iryna was alone when she boarded, and no one reported seeing her phone being used by others. A digital forensics expert, consulted anonymously, noted that modern smartphones can sometimes “borrow” signals from distant towers during movement, but a five-mile variance is unusual without obstruction.

For the Zarutskas, the mystery compounds their sorrow. Iryna’s uncle Scott shared his own poignant final exchange: a week before her death, she texted him excitedly about her upcoming driving test, promising a visit soon. “She was so full of life,” he said. Her boyfriend, who asked to remain anonymous, echoed the sentiment, lashing out at the judge who had released Brown months earlier on a minor charge. “An unqualified judge let a monster walk free,” he told the New York Post. The family has launched a campaign to curb the sharing of the stabbing video online, arguing it violates Iryna’s dignity and retraumatizes survivors. A memorial at the Scaleybark station grows daily, adorned with Ukrainian flags, flowers, and notes from strangers moved by her story.

Iryna’s death has ignited broader debates. Ukrainian officials expressed horror, with some media outlets framing it as a symptom of America’s “culture wars” over immigration and crime. Al Jazeera reported Ukrainians’ dismay at the politicization, while conservative voices, including Fox News, highlighted it as evidence of failing mental health systems. A City Journal op-ed argued that “America’s mental-health system betrayed her,” pointing to Brown’s untreated schizophrenia as a preventable tragedy. The Ukrainian embassy offered to repatriate her remains, but the family declined, choosing burial in North Carolina—the land Iryna had come to call home.

As the grand jury indicts Brown, expected to face trial soon, the Zarutskas cling to memories. Anna pores over Iryna’s artwork, a portrait of the family smiling under a blue sky. The text message, with its anomalous location, remains an unsolved puzzle, a digital ghost in a story of loss. “She was coming home to us,” Anna whispers. “But she never made it.” In Iryna’s absence, her family fights for justice, hoping her legacy sparks change—for refugees, for the mentally ill, and for a safer America.