Decarlos Brown Jr., who stands accused of the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly confessed to his family that he committed the act because he believed Zarutska was reading his mind. This claim was made by his sister, Tracey Brown, who herself was a victim of an assault by her brother in 2022. Tracey Brown has described her brother as a paranoid schizophrenic who believed that the government had implanted a chip in his body.
Surveillance footage released by the Charlotte Area Transit System shows the horrifying moment when Zarutska was attacked by Brown on a light-rail train on August 22, 2025. Tracey Brown believes her brother had reached a breaking point on the night of the murder. She has tried to understand his actions through phone conversations and visits with him in jail.
In a disturbing audio recording of a phone call made six days after the murder, Brown can be heard telling his sister that “the material in his body” forced him to kill Zarutska. Tracey Brown has visited her brother multiple times since the incident, including a face-to-face visit and a video call, in an attempt to comprehend why he committed such a horrific act.
During a recent visit, Brown allegedly made threats against his sister and their mother, accusing them of being part of a conspiracy against him. He claimed that they were being trafficked by the government in an effort to get to him. Tracey Brown was shocked by these allegations, initially believing that her brother must have acted in self-defense.
Brown’s erratic behavior reportedly began after his release from prison in 2022, following a five-year sentence for armed robbery. His sister described him as struggling to hold conversations, becoming aggressive, and failing to maintain steady employment. She believes that both their family and the state failed him.
Prior to the murder, Brown had been arrested on January 19 after calling 911 during a welfare check, claiming that his brain was being controlled by a microchip. Despite his apparent mental health issues, he was granted cashless bail at a January 21 hearing. Tracey Brown now fears retaliation due to her brother’s actions and has called on authorities to spare him the death penalty, citing his ongoing struggle with mental health issues.