A 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who recently fled her war-torn home for a safer life in the US was knifed to death by a homeless career criminal at a North Carolina train station last week, according to family members and authorities.
Iryna Zarutska suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the East/West Boulevard light rail station in South End, Charlotte just before 10 p.m. Friday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Saturday.
Zarutska had “recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to fundraise for the young woman’s aunt and other family members during the “heartbreaking time.”
“Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon… This is an irreparable loss for her family,” the statement read.
Photos taken by local outlet WSOC-TV showed police tape cordoning off the platform and a train at the light rail station that night. Police have yet to confirm if the stabbing took place on the train, platform, or nearby, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was identified as the suspect and transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Friday night. He has since been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, cops said.
Brown has been arrested a slew of times since 2011 for felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, according to court records obtained by The Post.
He is homeless and served five years in prison for the robbery with a deadly weapon charge, according to WSOC-TV.
Other past charges have been dropped, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The alleged killer, however, currently has pending charges for misuse of the 911 system in January following a police welfare check — which revealed his troubling thoughts, the outlet reported.
Brown told authorities during the visit he believed someone had given him a “man-made” material that controlled when he ate, walked, and talked, an affidavit obtained by the newspaper said.
“Brown wanted officers to investigate this ‘man-made’ material that was inside of his body,” the affidavit said.
Officers then advised Brown that he was suffering a medical issue, and there was nothing more they could do to help him.
He became upset over their response and called 911. He was arrested after he hung up the phone, the outlet reported.
Police have not released information on what led up to Friday’s deadly stabbing. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
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