President Trump has called for the suspect who was charged with fatally stabbing a Ukrainian woman on a North Carolina light rail to receive the death penalty.
“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!!” Trump wrote in a post shared on Wednesday to his Truth Social platform.
Iryna Zarutska fled Ukraine in 2022 with her mother, sister and brother to escape the war with Russia, “and she quickly embraced her new life in the United States,” according to her obituary.
She was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22 while riding the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News. She had just finished work at a local pizzeria and had “texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon,” her family’s attorney said.
Video of the attack shows 23-year-old Zarutska entering a train car and taking a seat directly in front of the suspect, who has since been identified as Decarlos Brown Jr. Minutes later, Brown can be seen pulling a knife from his pocket and slashing at a terrified Zarutska. She then collapsed to the floor of the train, and was pronounced dead a short time later.
There was no apparent interaction between Brown and Zarutska before the stabbing.
Brown was taken into custody in wake of the incident and charged with first-degree murder. He has since also been charged on a federal level with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which could make him eligible for the death penalty, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
