Charlotte stabbing victim’s family speaks out: ‘This could have been anyone’

The family of stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska says she texted her boyfriend that she was on her way home on the night of her death.

Zarutska was stabbed to death on August 22 on a Lynx Blue Line train in the south end of Charlotte in a brutal murder that resulted in blame being levied at not only the accused, Decarlos Brown Jr., but also the judicial system.

Brown has a lengthy rap sheet, and a woman believed to be his sister has claimed he has never received proper help for his mental conditions.

‘This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night.’

Speaking through an attorney, Zarutska’s family decided to speak out on Tuesday about the awful incident.

“We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way,” the family said, according to WSOC-TV’s Hunter Saenz. “No family should have to go through this.”

“This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night,” Saenz said the family also expressed. “We are committed to making sure this never happens again.”

Adding to the tragic evening was the way the Zarutska family became aware of the victim’s death.

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The family stated that on the night in question, Zarutska texted her boyfriend that she was going to be home soon. Sadly, her family became worried when she did not get to her apartment at the “anticipated time.”

So the family checked Zarutska’s phone location, which showed her still at the train station. The family hurried to the station, but upon arrival, the attorney said, the family was “devastated to learn that Iryna had died at the scene.”

The family is also reportedly seeking changes to the way the Charlotte rail system is operated, pointing to what they believe to be failures that contributed to Zarutska’s death.

These included: “a lack of visible or effective security presence,” a failure in oversight in the contracts of professional security services, and an “absence of adequate safety measures that could have prevented this tragedy.”

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According to reporter Saenz, the family is also calling on Charlotte city officials to “publicly address their failures and enact reform.”

They are also asking for full investigations by the responsible security teams, while hoping the public and media can “show restraint and compassion” by not further spreading the footage of the tragic killing.

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