Charlotte train stabbing federal case delayed over suspect’s mental competency
By Dianne Gallagher, Andy Buck, Andy Rose, CNN
Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) — Proceedings in the federal case against Decarlos Brown Jr. — accused of fatally stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train last year — will be delayed after a judge agreed Brown is not competent to stand trial.
Brown was committed Tuesday to the attorney general’s custody for transport to a secure federal medical facility, where he was ordered to undergo treatment for no more than four months.
“The four-month period – as required by law – will give mental health professionals time to determine whether Mr. Brown is likely to become competent to continue with his federal criminal case,” Brown’s attorneys said in a court filing.
If the four-month period expires and Brown shows strong signs of attaining competency, the court will consider continuing treatment for a “reasonable period,” according to US District Judge Kenneth Bell’s court order.
Brown, 34, could face the death penalty in the killing of Zarutska, who was stabbed from behind with a pocketknife while seated and looking at her phone in an unprovoked attack on August 22, 2025.
President Donald Trump and other administration officials have cited the killing in their criticism of major US cities led by Democrats, which they accuse of being soft on crime. The victim in this case was a Ukrainian refugee, and Brown is a US-born citizen. In November, the Department of Homeland Security launched a dayslong immigration crackdown in Charlotte, prompting confusion and outrage from neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.
Zarutska, a college graduate with a degree in art and restoration, fled the war in Ukraine in 2022. At the time of her death, she was working at a pizzeria and studying to become a veterinary assistant.
Bell said the federal evaluator in Chicago, where Brown has been held for competency observation and evaluation, determined Brown is not competent to stand trial at this time, but his prognosis for being restored to competency with medication is good.
Bell also noted another hearing would be required if forced medication is deemed necessary.
Brown, who entered the courtroom wearing a black and gray jumpsuit and orange shackles on his hands and feet, had multiple outbursts during the brief hearing Tuesday morning.
As Bell was speaking to the defense, Brown began shouting, asking if the judge needed a copy of a statement from him. Brown said he had written a letter to Trump demanding an investigation into, and charges pressed against, the “matter” controlling his body. Brown said the FBI refused to investigate, and he wanted the media in attendance Tuesday to know that.
Brown’s mother attended the hearing. The family told CNN last year Brown suffered from schizophrenia.
“He didn’t seem like himself” after spending five years in prison for robbery, his sister Tracey Brown told CNN in September.
Brown’s attorney filed a statement Tuesday that Brown insisted be submitted to the court.
“I would like to tell the court I have a body emergency,” the statement said. “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 statement also revealed that Brown wants a “court order directing ‘law enforcement’ to investigate his body emergency.”
The federal prosecutor emphasized Brown is not being released from custody and said he is “hopeful” Brown will stand trial on the federal charges after completing the ordered treatment.
“Our number one goal here is justice for Iryna Zarutska and Iryna Zarutska’s family,” Russ Ferguson, US attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said. “That’s what’s on the top of our minds and our hearts every day, and this is a step in that process.”
The state murder case against Brown has also been delayed for at least six months after he was found “incapable of proceeding” in court. State prosecutors have said they will wait to resume their prosecution until after the federal case is completed.
The-CNN-Wire
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