The Trump administration has announced its intention to pursue the prosecution of Iryna Zarutska’s alleged murderer, despite claims from his defense team that he is not competent to stand trial.
According to a recent court filing, attorneys for the accused, 35-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr., reported that a psychological evaluation had determined he is unable to proceed to trial.
This claim has ignited widespread concern, as many question whether this ruling could potentially allow Brown to evade state charges for the murder of the Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train last August.
The court documents pertain only to the state charges against Brown. He is also facing a federal trial where the death penalty remains a possibility.
Amid the ensuing controversy, Harmeet Dhillon, the US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, assured the public via X that Brown will still face trial.
“Folks: I had a great call this morning with our US Attorney in Charlotte. Brown remains in federal custody and so the parallel state proceedings are in no way dispositive,” Dhillon stated.
‘There will be a federal competency determination and prosecution track taking precedence.’Â
The US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina also weighed in on the filing, responding to a misleading report that the suspect had been found incompetent to stand trial.Â
‘DeCarlos Brown is in federal custody on a federal indictment. The state proceedings, including any competency finding in those proceedings, are completely separate,’ the prosecutor’s office said.Â
Federal prosecutors vowed to move forward with the case against DeCarlos Brown Jr, 35, a North Carolina homeless man accused of murdering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, after his lawyers said a psychiatric evaluation found him ‘incapable to proceed’ to trial on his state charges
Zarutska’s throat was slashed as she sat by herself on a train in August last night, in a shocking killing that was caught on surveillance footage and stunned the nation
Brown is facing state and federal charges for the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a refugee who fled Ukraine due to the war only to be murdered on public transport months later
Under North Carolina state law, a defendant is only incapable of proceeding to trial if they cannot understand the nature of their charges, cannot comprehend their role in court proceedings and cannot help their own defense.Â
Brown’s attorney, Daniel Roberts, said the murder suspect underwent a capacity evaluation in hospital in December, which he failed, leading a psychiatrist to determine he is unfit to face the state murder charges.Â
Questions over Brown’s mental state come after the Daily Mail exclusively revealed Brown’s first-ever jailhouse calls after allegedly murdering Zarutska, in which he spoke of ‘materials in my brain’ which he claimed forced him to stab her.Â
Brown had dozens of prior arrests before Zarutska’s murder and had been freed by North Carolina Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes just seven months before he allegedly stabbed the refugee.
The killing sparked calls for tougher sentencing for repeat offenders after it emerged that Brown, whose prior arrests included armed robbery and assault, was freed on a ‘written promise’ that he would return for his next court appearance.
Brown was arrested on January 19 last year for alleged ‘misuse of the 911 system,’ after he dialed the emergency number in a manic episode, claiming ‘man-made’ materials were inside his body controlling his movements.
Footage of the attack on Zarutska showed the refugee sitting by herself after finishing a shift in a pizza shop, looking down at her phone as Brown boarded the train and sat behind her.
Moments later, Brown appeared to unfurl a switchblade before standing up and looming over the refugee.
Surveillance footage showed Brown allegedly swinging a switchblade at Zarutska and slashing her throat as she sat on the train in Charlotte, North CarolinaÂ
The suspect then walked the train, apparently dripping blood on the floor, as other passengers barely paid attention to the horror that had just taken placeÂ
Zarutska had only recently arrived in the US before she was killed. She had been ‘seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,’ her family said
Images of the surveillance footage went viral on social media as Zarutska was seen cowering in fear from her seat moments before she was apparently knifed.
The suspect was then seen walking down the train, dripping blood on the floor as other passengers barely registered the horror that took place.
Brown was arrested soon after and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He was then charged with first-degree murder upon release.
Zarutska had only recently arrived in the US before she was killed, ‘seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,’ her family said on a GoFundMe page.
The case captured national headlines and sparked outrage, with President Trump referencing Zarutska in his State of the Union address as he called for a nationwide crime crackdown.
