The defendant in the tragic murder of a young Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train made a dramatic scene in court on Tuesday, shouting at a federal judge just before being deemed unfit for trial.
Decarlos Brown Jr., aged 35, repeatedly disrupted the hearing in Charlotte. He questioned whether the judge had examined his mental health assessment and declared his intention to file charges against the FBI.
As court officers attempted to remove him, Brown continued his tirade, claiming he had ‘material in his body’ and inquiring if the judge had received a letter from his mother.
This incident occurred as the federal judge determined that Brown is presently mentally unfit to face trial for the murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee whose death deeply affected the Charlotte community last year.
Brown faces federal charges for causing a death on a mass transportation system, an offense that carries the possibility of a death sentence.
Additionally, he is charged at the state level with first-degree murder, but those proceedings are on hold as the federal case progresses.
US District Judge Kenneth D. Bell ordered Brown committed to a federal medical facility for treatment after mental health experts concluded he is presently unable to understand the legal proceedings against him or properly assist in his own defense.
According to court filings, Brown has repeatedly claimed he is suffering from what he calls a ‘body emergency’ and believes someone has gained control of his body through technology that authorities refuse to investigate.
Brown is accused of fatally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a Charlotte commuter train in August 2025
Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, erupted in court Tuesday as a federal judge ruled he is currently not competent to stand trial
Surveillance footage showed Brown allegedly swinging a switchblade at Zarutska and slashing her throat as she sat on the train in Charlotte, North Carolina last August
Defense attorneys told the court that Brown wanted the judge to hear a statement alleging that ‘someone has full access to my body and they are controlling me wrongfully’ and that he had been wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia.
A forensic mental health evaluation conducted by federal examiners concluded that Brown ‘is presently not competent to stand trial,’ according to the judge’s order.
However, experts also determined that his condition could potentially improve with treatment.
The court found Brown’s prognosis for restoration of competency was favorable if he receives appropriate medication and medical care.
As a result, Bell ordered Brown transferred into the custody of the US attorney general for hospitalization and treatment for up to four months while doctors attempt to restore his competency.
After that period, the court will reassess whether Brown is capable of standing trial, whether additional treatment is necessary, or whether competency cannot be restored.
Outside the courthouse, US Attorney Russ Ferguson said the ruling was an important step in the legal process.
‘The court found that his prognosis is ‘good’ to be made competent and set a four-month deadline to have that process go forward,’ Ferguson told reporters.
Zarutska’s throat was slashed as she sat by herself on a train in a shocking killing that was caught on surveillance footage and stunned the nation
Zarutska, who fled Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, was returning home from work at a pizza restaurant when she was allegedly attacked on the train
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‘The court ordered that he seek treatment and medication,’ Ferguson added, noting that Brown will remain in federal custody while undergoing treatment.
Ferguson said prosecutors remain focused on obtaining justice for Zarutska and her family.
‘Our number one goal here is justice for Iryna Zarutska and Iryna Zarutska’s family,’ he said. ‘That’s what’s on the top of our minds and our hearts every day, and this is a step in that process.’
Asked about Brown’s courtroom behavior, Ferguson said it was difficult to determine exactly what the defendant was attempting to communicate.
‘It wasn’t entirely clear what he was yelling out,’ Ferguson said. ‘We’ve seen since the beginning of this case, he says there’s some sort of material that controls him and I think it was related to that. And that plays a little bit of a role in why he was found not competent to stand trial.’
Authorities say Zarutska was riding the train, returning home from her job at a pizza restaurant, when a crazed attacker snuck up on her from behind and stabbed her to death on August 22, 2025.
Footage of the attack on Zarutska showed the refugee sitting by herself 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.
Iryna Zarutska’s heartbroken family said that she had only recently arrived in the US ‘seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning’ before the random slaughter
DeCarlos Brown Jr, 35, a North Carolina homeless man stands accused of the murder but a psychiatric evaluation has found him ‘incapable to proceed’ to trial on his state charges
The refugee who fled her war-torn home in 2022 bled to death with fear in her eyes as onlookers did nothing to intervene.
Prosecutors identified the cold-blooded culprit as Brown Jr. who blamed his violent actions on a schizophrenic episode.
Zarutska, who had escaped war-torn Ukraine after Russia’s invasion and resettled in the United States, died from her injuries shortly afterward.
Brown was arrested soon after the attack and has remained in custody ever since.
He was previously found incompetent to stand trial in the parallel state murder case, while a separate evaluation conducted by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons also concluded that he was not competent to face the federal charges.
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.
Zarutska’s killing drew widespread attention because the young refugee had escaped the conflict in Ukraine only to be fatally attacked while commuting home in North Carolina
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.
In her obituary, Zarutska’s family said that before starting her new life in the US, Iryna graduated from Synergy College in Kyiv with a degree in Art and Restoration.
She was described as an adventurous young woman who adored animals and traveling.
‘She shared her creativity generously, gifting family and friends with her artwork,’ they said.
