The man on trial for allegedly stabbing to death a Ukrainian immigrant without provocation has been determined to be “incapable to proceed” by a state psychiatric facility.
Video from the light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, captured the moment that Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly brutally stabbed Iryna Zarutska in the neck, according to prosecutors.
Brown’s attorney argued that the capacity hearing cannot take place as long as the suspect is in federal custody.
Brown, who is 44 years old, had a long history of violence and mental illness before he allegedly attacked Zarutska, who was on her way home after working a shift at a pizza shop in Aug. 2025.
A public defender filed a court filing Tuesday citing the mental evaluation from the Central Regional Hospital, but the judge must determine whether he will accept the findings.
The case is expected to be delayed until Brown is given psychiatric treatment to restore his capacity to proceed.
Zarutska, who was 23 years old at the time of her death, had fled from Ukraine to escape the dangers of the Russian war. Her death has become a national crusade against lax criminal prosecution and was featured in President Donald Trump’s last State of the Union address to Congress.
Brown’s attorney argued that the capacity hearing cannot take place as long as the suspect is in federal custody.
WBTV-TV reported that the process of restoring competency in North Carolina can take a long time because of the lack of psychiatric resources.
The suspect’s mother has admitted that Brown suffered from mental illness and had been arrested more than a dozen times.
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Tech billionaire Elon Musk donated $1 million to help fund murals across the country to honor the memory of Zarutska and bring more publicity to the cause.
Some of those efforts have been stymied by local activists and politicians who oppose the murals on the basis that they are “divisive” or do not align with their values.
“Evil doesn’t see policy. Evil doesn’t see left or right. Evil doesn’t see any of that. Evil is just evil,” said graffiti artist Gear Duran, who painted a mural in Las Vegas. “I’m here trying to combat that, to bring awareness with this mural, just to bring some positivity and light to what happened.”
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