(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Decarlos Brown Jr., who allegedly stabbed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a Charlotte train on Aug. 22, was federally indicted on Wednesday, and could face the death penalty over the matter.
Brown had already been facing state murder charges. The federal indictment charges him with the offence of “Violence Against a Railroad Carrier and Mass Transportation System Resulting in Death”—a crime that carries the death sentence.
Brown has yet to make an appearance in federal court. At the state level, a judge ordered him to be sent to a psychiatric hospital to determine if he’s fit to stand trial. He’s still listed as an inmate of Mecklenburg County jail, and it’s not clear how the federal case will impact his status there.
Here's the federal indictment for Charlotte train stabber Decarlos Brown Jr., who faces the death penalty.
Brown now has 4 lawyers in a case that looks to have major implications for how capital punishment is applied to the criminally insane. pic.twitter.com/X0qfKaDhWp— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) October 23, 2025
Brown now has five different attorneys—one for the state charges and four, including a private practice lawyer, in federal court—in a case that looks to impact how capital punishment is applied to the criminally insane.
Brown was taken to Atrium Health – Carolinas Medical Center to treat lacerations on his hand after he stabbed 23-year-old Zarutska to death on Aug. 22. He remained at the hospital until Aug. 28, when he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. That same day, Brown, who is reportedly schizophrenic, requested that Charlotte police obtain his medical records—signing a release form for their disclosure.
Brown also reportedly told his sister that he believes a government put a chip in his body that caused him to stab Zarutska.
Headline USA, which was the first publication to obtain and publish the full video of the gruesome incident, will continue to cover both cases as they develop.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
