Chilling footage shows the final moments of a Ukrainian woman who was stabbed to death on a North Carolina train.
Surveillance footage has captured the moment 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a train in North Carolina, U.S.
The young woman had recently arrived in the U.S. seeking safety and ‘new beginnings’ after fleeing her war-torn country.
Decarlos Brown Jr., a 34-year-old, has been subsequently charged with first-degree murder.
The homeless man was arrested on August 28, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said.
Zarutska boarded the Lynx Blue Line train just after 9:45 pm on August 22, and sat in the seat in front of Brown Jr, who was wearing a red hoodie at the time.
A police detective told CNN: “The train travels for approximately four-and-[a]-half minutes before the suspect pulls a knife from his pocket, unfolds the knife, pauses, then stands up, and strikes at the victim three times.”
The footage following the brutal stabbing shows the suspect moving down the train, walking by passengers who appear unaware of what has just happened, before exiting the carriage.
As he walked away from the brutality, clips circulating on social media suggest that the killer muttered ‘I got that white girl’ as he walked on.
Others believe that the mutter came from a fellow passenger, who said ‘he got that white girl.’
While fellow passengers initially did nothing to help the fatally injured young woman, having realized the severity of the attack, those around her stepped in to help.
One tried to perform CPR on the victim, as one man took his shirt off to dress her wound.
She then fell to the floor about 15 seconds later, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect had schizophrenia, as well as an extensive criminal history, including robbery convictions dating back to 2011.
He previously spent six years in a North Carolina prison after convictions for robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Following his release in September 2020, he was arrested again in September 2022 for assault on a female.
During Zarutska’s final moments, she appeared horrified and in shock.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, has since noted that the department will seek the maximum penalty, and that the 34-year-old would ‘never again see the light of day as a free man.’
In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said: “The brutal attack on Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Light Rail was a disgraceful act that should never happen in America.
“The FBI jumped to assist in this investigation immediately to ensure justice is served, and the perpetrator is never released from jail to kill again.”
