Before the murder of Charlie Kirk Wednesday, President Donald Trump spoke out about another recent murder – the stabbing death of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, N.C., train.
“It’s time to stop this madness,” said the president. “The people of our country need to insist on protection, safety, LAW & ORDER.”
Who was Iryna? In the weeks since her murder in August, more details have been revealed about the 23-year-old woman.
This Thursday, The Charlotte Observer reported that Charlotte FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle Jr. described Zarutska as a young person “just building her life” in the U.S. She arrived in Charlotte around three years ago, fleeing from the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There, she had been living in a bomb shelter, according Barnacle and U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. Prior to the invasion, Zarutska earned a degree in art restoration from a college in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital and a major target of Russian aggression.
When she arrived in Charlotte, Zarutska was quick to make friends and found work as soon as she could, said the officials. Her jobs included working at a pizza place, working at a senior center and working with animals. She had also recently moved in with her partner, identified by the New York Post as 21-year-old Stanislav “Stas” Nikulytsia.
Per that report, he shared a photo with Zarutska on his Instagram account Wednesday captiomed with a broken heart emoji. It said this was first public statement since Zarutska’s murder. In his Instagram stories, Nikulytsia also reposted clips slamming Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, said the Post.
Stokes “freed Zarutska’s alleged killer, Decarlos Brown, on cashless bail seven months before the horrific knife attack onboard a Charlotte train on Aug. 22,” said the report.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 34-year-old Decarlos Dejuan Brown was charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, a federal crime, this Tuesday. If he is convicted, Brown faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison or death.
Ferguson, the U.S. attorney, said that Zarustska was on her way home from work when Brown allegedly attacked her with a knife on the city’s light rail system. An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint Tuesday alleges that Brown pulled out a knife from his pocket and struck Zarutska three times from behind approximately four minutes after she sat in the row in front of him the on evening of Aug. 22. Those allegations are based on surveillance footage.
That footage has been circulating online. Lauren Newton, an attorney from the victim’s family, said they asked people not to share it, said The Charlotte Observer’s report.
After the violent incident, callers contacted the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) and officers responded to the Lynx Blue Line light rail in Charlotte at approximately 9:55 p.m. on Aug. 22. Callers indicated that a woman had been stabbed by a man. Law enforcement found a pocketknife and other items were collected from the scene.
“Following the attack, Brown walked away from the victim,” said the DOJ. “Responding officers located Brown on the light rail platform and he was arrested.”
CMPD said in an Aug. 23 press release that Brown was transported to Atrium Health “with non-life-threatening injuries sustained at the time of the incident.” It said a third party was also transported to Atrium Health at the time of the incident for a non-related medical event.
“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream -- her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi this week. “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 – he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also said the attack was “a disgraceful act that should never happen in America.” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said his department is launching an investigation into public transportation safety.
Trump has recently drawn attention to crime in cities across the U.S., notably sending National Guard troops into Washington D.C. in a controversial move. He has also recently advocated for the death penalty. North Carolina is one of the U.S. states that has capital punishment on the books, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Newton, the attorney for Zarutska’s family said their priority is “to ensure the man responsible for Iryna’s murder is brought to justice and remains behind bars.” They also have concerns about the “lack of visible or effective security presence” at the light rail,” and more.
That statement also revealed more about the young woman. Her family said she was working on improving her English and that she had just texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon before she was attacked. When she didn’t arrive home, her family became concerned that her phone showed her location at the light rail station. There, they eventually learned that she had been killed.
“Iryna Zarutska fled war-torn Ukraine seeking safety – but America failed her,” said Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.) this week.
Although the Ukrainian embassy offered to facilitate to return Zarutska’s remains to her home country, Ferguson said her family declined.
“Her family said, ‘No. She loved America. We’re going to bury her here,’” the U.S. attorney explained.
On Saturday Trump also announced that he is “ready to do major sanctions on Russia,” which has continued its invasion of Russia even after an attempted peace summit Trump held with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Trump said in his Truth Social post that China has a strong hold on Russia that he plans to break with sanctions.
He laid some of the blame for the war on former President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump called the war “deadly, but RIDICULOUS.”