Decarlos Brown Jr., a man accused of murdering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, reportedly confessed to his family that he committed the crime under the belief that Zarutska was telepathically invading his thoughts. This information was shared by his sister, Tracey Brown, who herself was a victim of her brother’s violence in 2022. Tracey Brown has characterized her brother as a paranoid schizophrenic, convinced that the government had inserted a microchip into his body.
Surveillance footage from the Charlotte Area Transit System captured the chilling moment when Zarutska was assaulted by Brown on a light-rail train on August 22, 2025. Tracey Brown has expressed her belief that her brother had reached a mental breaking point on the night of the murder. She has been attempting to understand his actions through phone conversations and jail visits.
In a chilling audio recording of a phone call made six days after the murder, Brown can be heard telling his sister that “the material in his body” compelled him to kill Zarutska. Tracey Brown has visited her brother multiple times since the incident, including a face-to-face visit and a video call, in an effort to understand why he committed such a horrific act.
During a recent visit, Brown allegedly threatened his sister and their mother, accusing them of being part of a conspiracy against him. He claimed that they were being trafficked by the government in an effort to reach him. Tracey Brown was taken aback by these allegations, initially believing that her brother must have acted in self-defense.
Brown’s erratic behavior reportedly began after his release from prison in 2022, following a five-year sentence for armed robbery. His sister described him as struggling to hold conversations, becoming aggressive, and failing to maintain steady employment. She believes that both their family and the state failed him.
Before the murder, Brown had been arrested on January 19 after calling 911 during a welfare check, claiming that his brain was being controlled by a microchip. Despite his apparent mental health issues, he was granted cashless bail at a January 21 hearing. Tracey Brown now fears retaliation due to her brother’s actions and has called on authorities to spare him the death penalty, citing his ongoing struggle with mental health issues.