Providence mayor demands removal of 'divisive' mural of Iryna Zarutska, slain by career criminal

A mural of slain Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, will be removed from a Providence, Rhode Island, building. This comes after the mayor claimed that the mural "does not reflect" the city’s values.

The artist behind the mural, which was going up on the side of gay nightclub The Dark Lady, confirmed to WJAR that the mural was coming down. The club had been fine with it until the complaints. Artist Ian Gaudreau said, "A lot of people voiced their frustrations, and voices were heard, and the work is coming down as a reaction to that."

Among the critics of the mural was Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, who said, "The murder of the individual depicted in this mural was a devastating tragedy, but the misguided, isolating intent of those funding murals like this across the country is divisive and does not represent Providence. I continue to encourage our community to support local artists whose work brings us closer together rather than further divides us."

State Rep David Morales, who is running to replace Smiley, said, "We’re seeing a right-wing movement that is exploiting the death of the refugee for the purposes of trying to spread division. Ultimately, we want to make sure that every community member that calls Providence home feels safe ... and we can both agree that this mural behind us does not reflect Providence's values."

The owners of the nightclub said in a statement that the project was being discontinued and would be removed. "We heard you PVD. We are deeply and sincerely sorry for everything that has taken place over the past week. After reflecting and learning, we have made the decision to discontinue this project and will move forward with removal as soon as possible. We remain committed to fostering unity, safety, and care for all members of our community, and we will continue to listen, learn, and act with those values at the forefront."

Zarutska was stabbed to death aboard a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina in August. Decarlos Brown Jr, 34, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the attack. He is also facing federal charges. Zarutska had come to the US to flee the war in her home country.

In jailhouse audio released in September, Brown was heard telling his sister that “the material used in my body stabbed the lady." He said he was on the train that night "going downtown to the hospital to tell them… that I'm trying to get rid of the material… to stop going crazy."