She Fled Ukraine in 2022; At 23, Her Life Was Cut Short on the Light Rail

On August 22, 2025, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee was killed in North Carolina. Her name was Iryna Zarutska, and she had been sitting on the light rail when she was fatally stabbed by Decarlos Brown Jr, a Black American man. 

She fled Kyiv in 2022 with her mother and siblings to escape Russia’s invasion of Ukraine。 In North Carolina, she quickly began rebuilding her life, taking on various jobs, most recently at a pizza parlor. Despite not knowing any English, she began learning at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. She even learned how to drive. At the same time, she aspired to become a veterinary assistant. Her family and friends remember her as being hardworking, bright, and having big plans for the future. 

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Despite the killing occurring a month ago, the case has recently gained traction due to surveillance footage of the crime spreading online. It has also drawn attention to the American mental health and criminal justice systems. This is because Decarlos Brown Jr., the 34-year-old alleged perpetrator, has a significant criminal record. In fact, he had been arrested 14 times before the stabbing, even serving prison time. Additionally, he suffers from schizophrenia, a serious mental illness causing hallucinations and delusions. In a phone call to his sister after his arrest, he allegedly said that Zarustka had been “trying to read his mind”. Brown’s mother has also informed news outlets that her son was acting “different” upon being released from prison after serving time for armed robbery. She added that her son was convinced that “the police had put a chip in him that influenced how he walked and talked,” after he was arrested for misuse of 911. Concerned and worried, she attempted to send him to a mental health facility; however, they only kept him for 14 days before he was sent back to her and her husband’s care.

Experts claim that this case exposes a systematic failure: the state failed to provide adequate long-term treatment for a man with severe mental illness, despite him showing clear signs of instability. The mental health system failed to protect Brown from himself, and therefore failed to protect Zarutska, whose promising new life in the U.S. had been cut short. Even as Brown’s dangerous behavior continued, he was never able to receive proper help for his mental condition. As a result, he was allowed to roam free, becoming a danger not to himself and others.

For Zarutska’s loved ones, these explanations cannot cure the pain of losing a family member and  friend. However, her story lives on as both a personal tragedy and a reminder of the urgent need to address the gaps in the American mental health and criminal justice systems.