NEW Now you can listen to Fox News articles! Court documents recently released indicate that Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, the man accused of fatally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian woman Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina light-rail train, has been ruled incompetent to stand trial after a mental evaluation. The incident occurred aboard the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte on Aug. 2025. A report from Brown’s stint as a patient at Central Regional Hospital deemed him “incapable to proceed” with his impending criminal trial, per court records obtained by Fox News. The homeless man, diagnosed with schizophrenia, remains in federal custody on unrelated charges tied to the alleged murder. CHARLOTTE RAIL MURDER SUSPECT CONNECTED TO INMATE RELEASE OK’D BY FORMER DEM GOVERNOR, CLAIMS GOP. Brown’s lawyers have requested that the court postpone a hearing set for April 30, arguing that his mental competency cannot be determined while he is held in federal custody. The move will ultimately postpone Brown’s case pending a psychiatric assessment. Brown, a parolee with a long record of legal troubles, has a reported history of mental health issues, per family statements. IRYNA’S LAW LABELED ‘POLITICAL AGENDA’ AS SHERIFF FLAGS JAIL OVERCROWDING. By March 2024, officials had recorded six encounters with Brown, including multiple welfare checks prompted by his repeated 911 calls, per The New York Times. One year later, Brown called 911 from Novant Presbyterian Hospital, claiming he needed assistance removing a “man-made” substance controlling him, according to the Charlotte Observer. Responding officers reportedly informed him they couldn’t assist. IRYNA ZARUTSKA’S FAMILY DEMANDS JUSTICE IN FIRST STATEMENT SINCE ‘HORRIFIC’ STABBING. Brown made comparable statements in a jailhouse call to his sister mere days after Zarutska’s alleged killing. GOT A TIP? In a call obtained by the Daily Mail, Brown claimed he didn’t understand why he stabbed the 23-year-old refugee, asserting that the government had implanted “materials” in his brain that were “controlling” his actions. “They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened,” Brown said. Whoever handled the materials lashed out at her.
