The family of stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska says she texted her boyfriend that she was on her way home on the night of her death.
Zarutska was stabbed to death on August 22 on a Lynx Blue Line train in the south end of Charlotte in a brutal murder that resulted in blame being levied at not only the accused, Decarlos Brown Jr., but also the judicial system.
Brown has a lengthy rap sheet, and a woman believed to be his sister has claimed he has never received proper help for his mental conditions.
'This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night.'
Speaking through an attorney, Zarutska's family decided to speak out on Tuesday about the awful incident.
"We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way," the family said, according to WSOC-TV's Hunter Saenz. "No family should have to go through this."
"This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night,” Saenz said the family also expressed. "We are committed to making sure this never happens again."
Adding to the tragic evening was the way the Zarutska family became aware of the victim's death.
RELATED: Iryna Zarutska’s name should shame the woke
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The family stated that on the night in question, Zarutska texted her boyfriend that she was going to be home soon. Sadly, her family became worried when she did not get to her apartment at the "anticipated time."
So the family checked Zarutska's phone location, which showed her still at the train station. The family hurried to the station, but upon arrival, the attorney said, the family was "devastated to learn that Iryna had died at the scene."
The family is also reportedly seeking changes to the way the Charlotte rail system is operated, pointing to what they believe to be failures that contributed to Zarutska's death.
These included: "a lack of visible or effective security presence," a failure in oversight in the contracts of professional security services, and an "absence of adequate safety measures that could have prevented this tragedy."
According to reporter Saenz, the family is also calling on Charlotte city officials to "publicly address their failures and enact reform."
They are also asking for full investigations by the responsible security teams, while hoping the public and media can "show restraint and compassion" by not further spreading the footage of the tragic killing.
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The man allegedly seen on video stabbing Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, has reportedly provided an explanation for his actions.
Decarlos Brown Jr. has a lengthy criminal past that includes charges for simple assault, resisting a public officer, communicating threats, theft, and more, according to WBTV.
Brown has also been charged with murder for a stabbing that happened on August 22 on a Lynx Blue Line train in the south end of Charlotte.
'They lashed out on her. Whoever was working the material, they lashed out on her.'
A 33-year-old woman claiming to be Brown's sister, Tracey Brown, spoke to the Daily Mail and claimed that she had a phone call with Brown six days after he was arrested, on August 28.
In the recording, the man reported to be Brown is heard telling the woman believed to be Tracey, "I hurt my hand stabbing her. I don't even know the lady."
He continued, "I never said not one word to the lady at all. That's scary, ain't it? Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason?"
The rest of the alleged phone call with Brown made its way onto social media sites like X, in which Brown claims "materials" inside his body forced him to stab the woman.
"So, you said something in your body did what?" Tracey is heard asking.
"The material used in my body stabbed the lady," Brown replied.
"You know, that's not me. I'm talking about just for no reason. Well, since they did that, since they did that, now they got to investigate the material my body was exposed to. Since they want to do all that, now they got to investigate."
Tracey, trying to find reason within her brother's answer, then asked, "I'm just trying to understand, out of all people, why her?"
"Hey, I don't have nothing," Brown said back, referring to something in his body as "they."
"They just lashed out on them, and that's what happened. They lashed out on her. Whoever was working the material, they lashed out on her."
The sister also asked her brother what he was doing on the train that day and where he was going, according to the audio.
"I was going downtown to the hospital to tell them ... that I'm trying to get rid of the material ... to stop going crazy," Brown replied.
Blaze News could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio or the identities of the speakers on it.
RELATED: Iryna Zarutska’s name should shame the woke
Speaking with the Daily Mail on Tuesday, Tracey, an Amazon delivery associate, said Brown has gone from a "protective" older brother to a person who believes the government is controlling his brain with a microchip that was inserted while he was asleep.
Brown also allegedly believed 23-year-old Zarutska was reading his mind at the time of the stabbing.
Tracey said Brown has tried to get admitted into the hospital several times over the last few years, including calling police about the alleged implant in his body.
These claims are corroborated via a January 2025 charge for misusing 911, with court filings showing that Brown believed he was given a "man-made" material that controlled his eating, walking, and speech.
"I strongly feel like he should not have been on the streets at all," Tracey told the Daily Mail. "I'm going to be honest. I'm not blaming anyone for his actions, except for the state. I'm blaming the state for letting him down as far as seeking help."
The sister continued, "When you have mentally ill people seeking help, and you're running tests on them, and you clearly see that you are dealing with a psychosis on an acute level, you do not let them go back into society."
She added, "He was a high risk. He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society. ... And now an innocent woman is dead."
Tracey provided several pictures to the U.K. outlet, claiming they are of her and her brother, Brown. She also claimed that she visited Brown at Mecklenburg County Jail last week and spoke to him through a glass window.
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