Do you know the name Iryna Zarutska? I’m almost sure you don’t, because – other than the infinitesimal possibility you are her friend or relative – the news about Ms. Zarutska this week was blacked out by virtually all mainstream media.
Here’s what happened: Iryna Zarutska, a refugee from war-torn Ukraine who emigrated to Charlotte, North Carolina, was riding on the train. She was alone, sitting, looking at her cell phone. Video shows that she had no interaction with anyone, she was just sitting there.
But the person behind her was decarlos brown Jr. – a 34 year old career violent criminal with 14 arrests already under his belt. Despite that record, brown was still let go and allowed to roam the streets, courtesy of what passes for Charlotte’s legal system.
brown, in keeping with his violent history, decided to pull out a knife and repeatedly stab Iryna Zarutska, leaving her dead. He then sauntered out of the train like nothing happened.
Want to see the specifics on decarlos brown, Jr.’s arrest record ,and the assessment of his mental capacities? From wikipedia.com (surprisingly), we have this:
The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., was a 34-year-old homeless man with a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2011. Brown had been convicted of multiple offenses, including robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, felony larceny, and misuse of the 911 system. He had served approximately six years in a North Carolina prison and was released in September 2020. Subsequent arrests included charges for assault on a female in 2022 and misuse of the 911 system in January 2025, where he claimed a “man-made material” was controlling his body. His mental capacity to stand trial was questioned in July 2025, with a court-ordered forensic evaluation pending at the time of the incident.
Bottom line: decarlos brown Jr. is a career criminal. A violent, mentally deranged lunatic who, if allowed on the streets, is going to do what he always does; commit violent crimes.
You’d think a story like this would get a lot of coverage, wouldn’t you? Well, did it?
No.
Neither The Associated Press, nor the New York Times, nor the Washington Post, nor CNN, nor MSNBC, nor PBS, nor NPR, (among many others) reported a thing about this. Not one word.
If you rely on any of those sources for your news, you would not know this horrific murder, committed by a violent serial criminal who, in a sane world, would never, ever have been let out of jail or a mental institution, even existed.
And if you think this made any kind of a dent in local law enforcement/protection for innocent citizens, the wikipedia entry continues:
The murder raised safety concerns for Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line. Councilman Edwin Peacock stressed fragile public trust and urged Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and CMPD to review security. CATS confirmed the train operator followed protocol, holding the train until police arrived.
On September 6, 2025, local Charlotte TV channel WBTV quoted the authorities saying that the murderer “did not buy a ticket” and that CATS is “working on ways to keep fare skippers off mass transit”, and concluded by emphasizing that the murder “would have been difficult to prevent once he got on the train“
Got that? The problem wasn’t that a career, violent criminal with known mental issues was released again (and again and again) into the general population. The problem was that he got on the train without buying a ticket.
Heck, if only they were more careful about ticket sales, nothing like this would have happened, right? Just ask “the authorities” in Charolotte.
Insane? Yes. But this is the world a lot of us live in.
My condolences to the Zarutska family. And my outrage to the “authorities” and what passes for the legal system in Charlotte, North Carolina.
