BREAKING: Iryna Zarutska's killer ruled incompetent to stand trial

DeCarlos Brown Jr, the man who was charged with stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on the Charlotte light rail, has been found incompetent to stand trial, according to federal prosecutors. 

Brown, 34, appeared in federal court on Tuesday morning, where federal Judge Kenneth Bell found ruled that Brown did not understand the proceedings, and could not stand trial. During the hearing, Brown shouted about having "material in his body" and said that he was having a "body emergency" during the brief hearing at the courthouse, per Queens City News. 

The judge, as the ruling came down, said, “[I] hope that what happens here will be accurately recorded by professional press and social media." Brown was evaluated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago through the Bureau of Prison. 


 Iryna Zarutska

After shouting during the hearing, he was escorted out of the room. He shouted more at the judge and asked if the judge had gotten a letter from his mother. The killer will now get medication as well as treatment in an effort to restore his competency for up to four months. 

If Brown is not found to be competent at that point, he may be held in federal custody under federal commitment laws. Another hearing may determine is he has to be forcibly medicated. The prosecutors in the case did not present any evidence in the 15-minutes hearing on Tuesday.  

“The court found that his prognosis is ‘good’ to be made competent and set a four-month deadline to have that process go forward,” US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said. “The court ordered that he seek treatment and medication."



The brutal stabbing was recorded on video, and after the killing, Brown was heard on video muttering to himself, "I got that white girl, I got that white girl." He had been sitting behind Zarutska when without warning, took out a knife and started stabbing her in the neck repeatedly. 

As Brown wandered through the train after the stabbing, nobody ran to the girl's aid. "Blood visibly drips on the floor as the defendant walks away from the victim. The victim goes unresponsive shortly after the attack. The defendant is the assailant on the video. There appears to be no interaction between the victim and defendant," the police report reviewing the footage stated.