The boyfriend of a Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death on a train has blasted a judge who was called “unqualified” for allowing the suspect on the streets.
Decarlos Brown Jr was free despite 14 prior criminal arrests before he was accused of pulling out a knife and killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in an apparently random attack captured on video. Ms Zarutska had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the US to escape the war, according to relatives, who described her as determined to build a safer life.
And now Stanislav Nikulytsia, 21, shared a photo of himself with his girlfriend on Instagram with a heart emoji. He also reposted clips criticising Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who freed Brown on bail seven months before the attack on August 22. In one of the stories it was claimed that the judge was not qualified for letting him roam free.
Ms Zarutska’s family told they first realised something was wrong when she didn’t arrive home, and her phone location “alerted them that she was still at the station,” they said in a statement.
“That night, she texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon,” it read. “Upon arriving at the station, they were devastated to learn that Iryna had died at the scene.”
Footage of the incident shows Zarutska entering a light-rail train in North Carolina and taking a seat in front of Brown, who was seated behind her. Minutes later, without any apparent interaction, he pulls out a pocketknife, stands and slashes her in the neck, investigators said. Passengers scream and scatter as she collapses.
He is charged federally with causing death on a mass transportation system, which carries up to life in prison or the death penalty.
Russ Ferguson, the US attorney for the western district of North Carolina, said additional charges could be brought as the investigation continues. The federal case will run parallel with the state case charging Brown with first-degree murder.
Brown had gone through the criminal justice system for more than a decade including serving five years for robbery with a dangerous weapon in Mecklenburg County, according to court records.
He was arrested earlier this year after repeatedly calling 911 from a hospital, claiming people were trying to control him. A judge released him without bail.
His mother told local television she sought an involuntary psychiatric commitment this year after he became violent at home. Doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia.
Court records show a judge ordered a psychological exam in July at the request of his public defender to determine whether he was capable of contributing to his own defence. It wasn’t clear if the exam was scheduled or why it didn’t happen before the late August attack.
