Iryna's Story

Who she was

• Iryna Zarutska was 23 years old, originally from Kyiv, Ukraine. 

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• She fled Ukraine with her family in August 2022, to escape the war. 

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• Her family included her mother Anna, father Stanislav, a younger brother Bohdan, and sister Valeriia.

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• On arriving in the U.S., she lived with her uncle and his wife for some time. 

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Her life in the U.S.

• Iryna was described as hardworking, caring, and ambitious. She took up jobs such as babysitting and dog-walking early on, then worked at a pizzeria called Zepeddie’s Pizzeria in Charlotte.

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• She was studying English, enrolling in community college, as part of her aim to build a stable life and move forward.

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• She aspired to become a veterinary assistant. 

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• She had been saving money, bought her first car, and was learning to drive. 

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What happened

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• On 22 August 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina, she was riding the Lynx Blue Line light rail, returning home after a shift at the pizzeria. 

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• Surveillance video shows she boarded the train, sat in a car, and after a few minutes, the suspect (later identified as Decarlos Brown Jr., aged 34) stabbed her at least once in the neck.

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• She died at the scene.

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Legal and public response

• The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on state charges. Additionally, there is a federal charge under the law relating to death on a mass transportation system.

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• Her killing has drawn widespread attention in the U.S. and internationally, in part because she was a refugee seeking safety, and also because the attack was random and caught on camera.

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• There has been debate about transit safety, what protections exist for public transport riders, and discussions of how the justice system handles people accused of violent offenses, especially with mental health considerations.

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Aftermath & family

• Her funeral was attended by many people in Charlotte; she had built community ties. 

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• Her father was unable to leave Ukraine to attend due to wartime restrictions. He watched the funeral via FaceTime.

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• Though the Ukrainian embassy offered to repatriate her remains to Ukraine, the family chose to bury her in the U.S. This was seen by her uncle as a reflection of how much she had embraced her life in the US.

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