Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on board a Charlotte, N.C. light rail train, has reportedly spoken out from jail through his sister.
Brown is charged with first-degree murder in North Carolina and committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system in federal court after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, 23, who was riding a Charlotte Area Transit System light rail train on August 22.
Brown allegedly unfolded a knife from his pocket and stabbed Zarutska three times just minutes after she entered the train, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Mecklenburg County and cited by PEOPLE.
Brown has not yet entered a plea. His sister, Tracey Brown, told the Daily Mail that she has spoken to her brother since his arrest and shared an audio recording of their phone call.
“I hurt my hand, stabbing her,” Brown reportedly told his sister. “I don’t even know the lady. 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?”
Brown reportedly went on to say that the government had planted some “materials” in his brain that needed to be investigated.
When Tracey asked Brown why he stabbed Zarutska, he reportedly said, “They [the materials] just lashed out on her, that’s what happened.”
“Whoever was working the materials they lashed out on her,” he continued. “That’s all there is to it.”
Brown was previously arrested and charged with misuse of 911 in January after telling police officers that he believed “man-made” material had been placed in his head.
“Brown wanted officers to investigate this ‘man-made’ material that was inside of his body,” his arrest affidavit reads.
“Officers advised Brown that the issue was a medical issue and that there was nothing further they could do,” the affidavit states, adding that Brown got very angry with the officers and was arrested and charged with “misuse of the 911 system.”
Tracey told the Daily Mail that she believed her brother should not have been allowed on the street as he was dangerous.
“He was a high risk,” she said. “He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society.”
She told The Post that her brother’s behavior got worse after he was released from prison in 2022 following a five-year sentence for armed robbery.
