First treatment, then punishment: the court has decided the fate of the killer of Ukrainian woman Irina Zarutskaya.
DeCarlos Brown Jr. will remain in custody and undergo treatment during the trial for the murder of Ukrainian woman Irina Zarutskaya. A federal judge has ruled that he is currently unfit to participate in the trial. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced this on June 9. The Guardian.
Thirty-five-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr. is accused of murdering 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarutskaya. The case received widespread attention after the release of surveillance footage of the attack.
On June 9, Brown appeared in federal court for a competency hearing. Following a brief hearing, the court found him "currently incompetent to stand trial," according to a statement from the prosecutor's office.
On the subject: The killer of Ukrainian woman Irina Zarutskaya will not face trial: he was found insane.
"The court concluded that the prognosis for his ability to participate in the trial was favorable and ordered his referral for treatment," the statement said. "Brown will remain in federal custody during his treatment and the subsequent proceedings."
The prosecutor's office emphasized that this is solely a legal definition of procedural capacity—the ability to understand the course of proceedings and assist one's own defense.
"This has nothing to do with the actual circumstances of the case or the actual attack on the train in Charlotte," the department clarified.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said: “This case is painful every day, and our top priority is getting justice for Irina Zarutskaya and her family.
This is a necessary step to ensure the strength of the case and its sustainability in the event of an appeal."
In September, Brown was indicted on federal charges of committing an act on public transportation resulting in death. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he faces up to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
He is also a defendant in a state-level first-degree murder case for the death of Zarutskaya on August 22, 2025. In April, the court already found him incompetent to stand trial on this charge on the same grounds as now.
(In the United States, the federal and state levels are considered two distinct systems of government. Each has its own laws and courts. Therefore, the same action by a person can simultaneously violate two different sets of laws—federal and state.
This is possible because of a principle called "dual sovereignty." It means that the federal government and each state are separate "authorities." Therefore, they are considered distinct charges, even if the facts of the case are the same.
Because of this, a person may find themselves in two trials simultaneously or sequentially: first in state court, then in federal court, or vice versa. This is not considered a repeat conviction for the same crime in the legal sense, because formally these are different offenses—different laws from different authorities. Approx. Ed.)
A state hearing scheduled for April has been postponed until October.
A federal judge ordered Brown to be hospitalized for up to four months so specialists can evaluate his condition and determine whether he can be restored to compete in the trial.
After his discharge, a new hearing will be held to determine whether Brown is fit to stand trial.
After the hearing, Ferguson told reporters that he "very much hopes" that the accused's capacity will be restored.
"The doctor who examined him for today's hearing believes the prognosis for recovery is very good, and I trust his opinion. I think the prognosis is favorable, and we'll see how he stands before the court," he said.
Brown has a history of arrests, other legal troubles, and mental illness. His lawyers stated in May that he "suffers from a serious mental illness," noting that experts from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons had concluded that he was unfit to stand trial in a federal criminal case.
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On the eve of the hearing, Brown's lawyers submitted to the court a letter written by him.
In the letter, which appears in the case file, Brown wrote: "I would like to inform the court that I have a physical emergency. Someone has complete access to my body and is controlling me against my will. And law enforcement refuses to investigate this. This requires an investigation.
When I described a technology that someone was using, I was mistakenly diagnosed with schizophrenia."
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'She read my mind': Killer of Ukrainian woman in Charlotte names motive for crime
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