A federal judge has deemed Decarlos Brown Jr. incompetent to stand trial for the fatal train stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska last year.
Brown, 34, will be committed to a federal facility for treatment for up to four months in an attempt to restore competency, Judge Kenneth D. Bell said in his order on June 9.
After Brown’s time in the treatment facility, the court will again take up the case to determine if he is then considered competent. If he is found competent, the murder case will resume.
If he is not found to be competent, and the court finds he cannot be restored to competency, the court will rule on further treatment.
The defendant stands accused of stabbing Zarutska to death on a Charlotte, North Carolina, commuter train in August 2025.
Brown was charged with one count of Violence Against a Railroad Carrier and Mass Transportation System Resulting in Death. If convicted, the defendant faces the death penalty.
Video recording of the event, which went viral, showed Zarutska seated in front of her attacker on a train in the Charlotte Area Transit System, when, seemingly unprovoked, the man stood and stabbed the Ukrainian refugee in the neck with a knife.
Brown was arrested after exiting the train, and Zarutska died at the scene.
Court filings included a statement from Brown, which he asked to be provided to the court, saying, “I would like to tell the court I have a body emergency. Someone has full access to my body, and they are controlling me wrongfully. And law enforcement refuses to investigate it. And it requires for an investigation. When describing the technology someone was using, I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.”
The attack garnered international attention, including from President Donald Trump, who suggested that Brown be “awarded the death penalty. There can be no other option!” on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Former Attorney General Pamela Bondi wrote on Sept. 9, “I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence.”
Brown has been arrested more than a dozen times, with a criminal history dating back to 2014, but was released on no-cash bail.
More than a decade ago, Brown was convicted of felony breaking and entering. He was also convicted of armed robbery and spent five years in prison. His family sought his involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility, which was denied.
The incident, caught on security cameras, polarized the nation, prompting legislation and a reference by Trump during the 2026 State of the Union address.
“She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America,” Trump said.
He told the weeping mother: “I promise you we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter, Iryna.”
Trump added: “I’m asking this Congress to pass tough legislation to ensure that violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars, and importantly, that they stay there.”
North Carolina enacted Iryna’s Law after the incident, which removed cashless bail for some criminal offenses and required more conditions on pretrial release, including GPS monitoring, for others.
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