The Senseless Murder Of Ukrainian Refugee, Iryna Zarutska

On the evening of August 22nd 2025, an incident occurred that initially went largely unnoticed by media outlets across America. But for the few that did report it, the story was profoundly unsettling. This was the murder of Iryna Zarutska.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Iryna Zarutska was forced to flee her home following Russia’s invasion of the city. In 2022, she sought refuge in the United States, reuniting with family in the hope of finding safety and solace.

Determined to build a new life, Iryna settled in Charlotte, North Carolina. At just 23 years old, she already held a degree in art restoration, yet she found herself starting over in a country that felt foreign and unfamiliar.

Undeterred by the obstacles before her, Iryna learned English with remarkable speed and secured a modest job at a local pizzeria—small steps toward the future she hoped to create.

On the evening of August 22nd, Iryna completed her shift at the restaurant as usual. After closing, she made her way to Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line and boarded a train bound for her family’s home—a route she had travelled countless times before. The time was approximately 9:50pm.

On the half-full train car, Iryna slid into an empty seat, placed her earphones in, and scrolled quietly through her phone.

With other passengers scattered around her, she had every reason to feel safe on her familiar commute home. Or so she thought.

What Iryna could never have known was that she had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Within minutes, her life would be cut short in a violent and brutal attack.

Seated directly behind her was a cold-blooded predator, and the young, blonde woman had caught his eye.

His name was Decarlos Brown Jr, a man whose criminal record spanned over a decade and included at least 14 arrests. His offenses read like a catalogue of violence: armed robbery, larceny, assault. He was no stranger to law enforcement—but time and time again, he had been released back into the community, free to continue terrorising the public.

In recent months, Decarlos had exhibited clear signs of mental instability, earning labels such as “unstable” and “dangerous.” Yet, despite the obvious threat he posed to law-abiding citizens, he repeatedly slipped back onto the streets.

In one particularly alarming incident, he called 911, claiming that something inside his body was controlling him. These warning signs, chilling as they were, went largely ignored.

Surveillance footage from the train that night captured the haunting look that suddenly flickered across Iryna’s face—an unspoken awareness that something was wrong.

Perhaps she sensed it: the man behind her, muttering to himself under his breath, a smugness smeared across his features.

As the train rattled along the tracks, passengers gazed absentmindedly out the windows or lost themselves in their phones, unaware of the danger unfolding. Amid the quiet, Decarlos reached into the pocket of his hoodie and drew a knife.

He stood, appearing as if he were simply preparing to exit at the next stop. In reality, he was edging closer to the unsuspecting young woman, closing the distance with chilling intent.

As Decarlos loomed over Iryna, there was no time for anyone to react. With a sudden, brutal motion, he raised the knife above her head, slashing her throat before driving it into her chest.

The train carriage became a scene of chaos and terror. Witnesses stood paralyzed, their bodies frozen in shock, unable to comprehend the violence unfolding before them.

Decarlos, his hands now slick with Iryna’s blood, wiped them on his hoodie before calmly making his way to the train doors, muttering to himself, “I got that white girl… I got that white girl.” He stepped onto the platform, where police would later apprehend him.

Meanwhile, Iryna lay struggling on the grimy floor, her life slipping away. Some passengers walked past her without a second glance; others raised their phones to record her final moments. No one offered help, no one showed compassion to the young woman desperate for comfort in her dying seconds.

It would take police six minutes to reach the scene. By then, Iryna was gone. Any hope, any dream of a future, had been stolen in an instant—snatched away forever.

…Yet a story that should have dominated headlines nationwide—the same outlets that flooded coverage of cases like George Floyd or Daniel Penny—remained eerily silent on Iryna’s murder.

The lack of coverage did not go unnoticed. Many citizens, outraged, believed the silence was deliberate—that Iryna’s murder simply did not fit the narrative the media wanted to push.

Some argued that if the roles had been reversed—a white killer and a Black victim—the story would have dominated headlines, sparked public outrage, and drawn politicians rushing to microphones to condemn the crime.

It would later emerge that, following his most recent charges, Decarlos had been released by Judge Teresa Stokes.

Had he remained behind bars, Iryna’s life might have been spared.

In the aftermath, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles publicly expressed gratitude to the media for their decision to largely ignore Iryna’s brutal murder on the city’s public train system, explaining that she did not want homelessness portrayed negatively—given that Decarlos was reportedly homeless at the time.

Adding further outrage to the tragedy, she also called for “compassion” toward Iryna’s killer, stating:

In an almost surreal turn, a GoFundMe page appeared, seeking to raise money for Decarlos—the man who had brutally murdered an innocent, defenceless young woman.

The platform quickly removed the fundraiser, but not before it had sparked widespread outrage.

The fundraiser had been created by none other than Reverend Ray Cistman, a self-described “anti-white Black activist” who had previously referred to convicted criminal George Floyd as the “modern Martin Luther King.”

For more than two weeks, Iryna’s murder went virtually unnoticed—until social media brought the story to light. Podcasts, videos, and articles quickly spread, exposing the shocking injustice.

Across America, outrage grew at the apparent attempt to bury the case, to brush Iryna’s death under the rug.

Thankfully, her name is now being remembered, and her story is finally being told. We will never forget Iryna Zarutska.