The man caught on video stabbing a Ukrainian war refugee to death in August in North Carolina won’t be facing state murder charges anytime soon.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, has been deemed “incapable to proceed” with the murder charge brought against him by Charlotte, North Carolina, prosecutors, WBTV-TV in Charlotte reported Tuesday.
However, a state judge has yet to rule on that finding, the station reported. And Brown is still facing a federal charge that could mean the death penalty.
For conservatives, Brown became one of the faces of Democratic lawlessness after the brutal, caught-on-camera killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a woman who fled the Russian invasion of her homeland for the presumed safety of the United States.
BREAKING: DeCarlos Brown Jr., the man who m*rdered Iryna Zarutska, has been found “incapable to proceed” on state m*rder charges.
The case is now reportedly delayed until Brown’s capacity is deemed “restored.”
HOW IS THIS JUSTICE??? pic.twitter.com/kBUt1vyHsd
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 8, 2026
In the media uproar that followed the Aug. 22 stabbing, which took place aboard a Charlotte light rail train, it emerged that Brown had a lengthy criminal history, including armed robbery, assault, and felony larceny, as the New York Post reported.
Yet he remained a free man long enough to commit an atrocity on a vehicle of public transportation.
In fact, Brown should have been behind bars at the time of the Zarutska killing on a charge of misusing the 911 system, but was not, thanks to a magistrate who let him go on a “written promise to appear” in court. That magistrate owed her seat to an elected Democratic judge and was supervised by another Democratic judge.
Now, according to a psychiatric evaluation, Brown is considered not capable of being tried for the killing.
According to The Charlotte Observer, the examination that found Brown incapable took place on Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Its findings were revealed Tuesday when his defense attorney filed a motion seeking to delay a hearing on Brown’s capacity to stand trial.
The state-level murder charge against Brown will not be adjudicated until his competency can be “restored,” according to WBTV.
“Restoring a defendant’s competency can be an extremely lengthy process in North Carolina because of a lack of available space in psychiatric facilities. Some defendants can wait more than a year for a bed to open up in one of the state’s facilities,” the station reported.
Brown remains in federal custody on a charge of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
In a statement released with the announcement of the federal charge, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to seek the “maximum penalty” for Brown.
The announcement noted that the maximum punishment is life in prison or death.
President Donald Trump has made clear his preferences in the case, with a Sept. 10 post on the Truth Social social media platform that declared that 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. There can be no other option!!!”
It’s unclear what effect, if any, the psychiatric finding will have on the federal charge.
According to WSOC-TV in Charlotte, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said the process of the federal case is independent of the state’s case, including the determination of competency.
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