The ex-felon charged in the deadly stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee last year in North Carolina, a caught-on-camera killing that made waves with the White House, has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
A state psychiatric hospital determined that Decarlos Brown Jr. was “incapable to proceed” to trial on murder charges related to the slaying of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte.
The psychiatric report was disclosed in a motion filed Tuesday by Brown’s public defender. The motion was first reported on local CBS affiliate WBTV.
A Mecklenburg County judge will rule on whether to accept those findings, but the court is expected to postpone his trial until Brown’s competence is “restored.”
The suspect’s public defender wants the case to be revisited in six months, and prosecutors agreed. The defense team also wants to know whether the death penalty will be sought, which they said Brown’s mental state would preclude.
President Trump expressed his desire for Brown, 35, to be put to death shortly after his arrest in August, in large part due to the graphic surveillance video of the killing.
The footage showed the killer pull out a knife and repeatedly stab Zarutska unprovoked on the Charlotte light rail. The assailant then walked off the train as blood dripped off the blade.
“The animal who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ’Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded the death penalty,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social at the time. “There can be no other option!!!”
Brown had been arrested at least 14 times since 2011 and spent six years in prison on robbery charges. He was living on the streets when the killing happened and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Brown also had a misdemeanor charge of misusing 911 from January 2025. The judge in that case released him from jail with a written promise to return to court, but Brown never did and and did not come back on law enforcement’s radar until Zarutska’s slaying.
North Carolina lawmakers passed “Iryna’s Law” following her death, which limits pretrial releases for defendants facing violent crime charges.
Brown is currently in federal custody in Chicago after he was indicted on charges of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
But Brown is also facing federal psychiatric evaluation in his case. That process is still ongoing.
