Decarlos Brown Jr., the homeless man accused of fatally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train, has been found incompetent to stand trial on state murder charges.
According to a motion filed on April 7th, Brown was evaluated at Central Regional Hospital on December 29th, and the report concluded he was not fit to proceed. His attorney has requested a 180-day delay for the competency hearing, which prosecutors did not oppose.
Brown, 35, has been in federal custody in Chicago since October 22nd, facing charges for violence against a railroad carrier and a mass transportation system resulting in death. He also faces state charges of first-degree murder in North Carolina.
A judge must now determine whether to accept the findings, and the case will likely be delayed until Brown’s competency is restored. If ruled incompetent, state law mandates dismissal of the charges, though they could be refiled if he regains capacity.
The attack occurred in late August, when Zarutska, a young Ukrainian refugee, boarded the train unaware of Brown sitting nearby. Video footage showed Brown unfolding a pocket knife and stabbing her multiple times from behind, leaving a trail of blood as he moved through the train.
Following the killing, the U.S. attorney general at the time Pam Bondi vowed to pursue the “maximum penalty.”
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein signed “Iryna’s Law,” preventing cashless bail for certain violent crimes and improving checks on repeat offenders.
Brown’s criminal history includes multiple arrests for assault, robbery, and firearms offenses.
