The man who murdered Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina, will not face trial after being deemed ‘mentally incapable of proceeding to trial’.
Here’s more from Daily Wire:
DeCarlos Brown Jr., the man accused of fatally stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in North Carolina, has been deemed mentally incapable of proceeding to trial in the state murder case.
Brown was evaluated at Central Regional Hospital, and a December 29, 2025, report found him “incapable to proceed,” according to court documents.
Under North Carolina law, incapacity to proceed involved a court determination of a defendant’s ability to understand the proceedings and assist in their defense. A defendant who is incapable of proceeding in a criminal case cannot be tried or punished by the state, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
On August 22, 2025, Zarutska, 23, was riding the LYNX Blue Line in Charlotte, looking at her phone, when Brown allegedly jumped from his seat, wielding a knife and slashing her multiple times in the neck.
Brown’s public defender, attorney Daniel Roberts, asked the court to delay his Rule 24 hearing to determine whether state prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
Brown also faces a federal charge alleging he committed an act of violence resulting in death on a mass transportation system.
So is he just gonna walk scot free after having committed such a savage murder? Certainly they realize he is a threat to society, so will they just go ahead and lock him up?