After Decarlos Brown Jr. was arrested for allegedly stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, his sister, Tracey Brown, has spoken out to explain his troubled mindset.
Tracey said Decarlos, 34, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia, according to a CNN report published on Tuesday, September 9. She went on to state that he likely believed Zarutska was “reading his mind” before he suddenly attacked her.
“A person that is hearing voices in their head and believes the world is against them, they’re going to break,” she told CNN. “And I think that night he broke.”
Tracey also noted that Decarlos “didn’t seem like himself” after he was released from prison in 2020.
Who is D4vd? Meet Singer Whose Car Was Found With Dead Body in Los Angeles
Meanwhile, their mother said in a separate interview with WSOC-TV that she also noticed Decarlos changed after his recent stint in prison. “He started saying weird things,” she told the outlet. “He started saying that he wasn’t in his body.”
Surveillance footage of the incident showed the suspect, who is believed to be Decarlos, sitting behind Zarutska on a LYNX Blue Line train around 10 p.m. on August 22. As Zarutska scrolled through her phone, the video captured him taking a knife out of his pocket and lunging over her seat to stab Zarutska three times.
Fugitive Father Had ‘Outside Help’ Hiding His 3 Kids in New Zealand Campsite
Six days after the brutal murder took place, Decarlos was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He is next scheduled to appear in court on September 19.
Decarlos has a criminal history that dates back to 2007, according to WBTV. He was previously convicted on charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon in 2014. He served just over five years in prison and was released on parole in September 2020.
He was most recently arrested in January when he was charged for misusing 911. WBTV reported Decarlos spent two days in jail before a judge released him on a written promise that he would appear in court. However, his public defender wondered whether he had the mental capacity to understand the promise he made.
While speaking to WSOC-TV, Decarlos’ mom opened up about his changing behavior in recent years and said the “system failed him.” She explained that he became more and more aggressive over time, and she even had to kick him out of her house when she grew concerned about her own safety.
“My heart goes out to the victim’s family,” she added. “What he did was atrocious. It was horrible. It was wrong.”
