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The homeless man accused of stabbing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail train in North Carolina has been found mentally unfit to stand trial in the state’s case. However, federal officials have assured that this ruling won’t affect their separate case against him.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, faces charges for the fatal stabbing of Zarutska on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line train on August 22, 2025.
According to court documents acquired by Fox News earlier this week, an assessment from Central Regional Hospital concluded that Brown is “incapable to proceed” with his impending state criminal trial, leading to a suspension of the state prosecution.
Despite this, the Department of Justice has clarified that this determination is “completely separate” from the federal case, as stated by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr.’s booking photo, dated September 14, 2022, following his arrest in Mecklenburg County. Brown, now 34, is charged with the August 22, 2025, murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
“I had a great call this morning with our U.S. Attorney in Charlotte,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon said in a post on X.
“Brown remains in federal custody and so the parallel state proceedings are in no way dispositive.”
A separate competency determination will be conducted in relation to the federal case against Brown, who remains in federal custody, according to Dhillon.
Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack on a Charlotte, N.C. light rail train. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
In lieu of the delay in Brown’s state proceedings, officials must conduct a separate psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial – a process that cannot be initiated while he is in federal custody, according to court documents.
Surveillance video shows Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, entering the train car and taking a seat in front of Brown.
Approximately four minutes later, Brown allegedly pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed her three times before walking off the train.
Zarutska was fatally stabbed in the throat three times with a folding knife during what police describe as a random attack on Aug. 22, 2025. (Luca Veros/Instagram)
He was taken into custody moments later on the light-rail platform, while Zarutska was pronounced dead at the scene.
Brown, a parolee with multiple documented run-ins with the law, has a long reported history of mental illness, according to family members.
By March 2024, authorities had logged six prior encounters with Brown, including multiple welfare checks triggered by his repeated 911 calls, according to The New York Times.
Just a year later, Brown called 911 from Novant Presbyterian Hospital, saying he needed help removing a “man-made” material he claimed was controlling him, the Charlotte Observer reported.
When officers arrived on scene, they reportedly told him they were unable to help.
In a jailhouse phone call to his sister just days after Zarutska’s alleged killing, Brown made similar claims regarding “man-made” material controlling his mind.
Brown said he did not understand why he stabbed the 23-year-old refugee and claimed the government had implanted “materials” in his brain that were controlling his actions, in the call obtained by the Daily Mail.
“They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened,” Brown said. “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.”
Brown remains in federal custody while he awaits trial on both state and federal charges.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.