[FoxNews] Decarlos Brown Jr. faces federal charge in killing of Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte trainCrime runs deep in Decarlos Brown Jr.'s family. The homeless felon accused of stabbing a young Ukrainian commuter to death on a Charlotte light rail train comes from a household where run-ins with the law have been a way of life.
Court records and law enforcement documents viewed by Fox News Digital reveal a disturbing family legacy: Stacey Dejon Brown, the older brother of the alleged killer, is locked up on a 27- to-36-year sentence for the 2012 shotgun slaying of a 65-year-old man during a robbery.
His sister, 33-year-old Tracey Vontrea Brown, has a criminal record that includes misdemeanor shoplifting, larceny, felony conspiracy, vehicle theft and resisting public officers, with her most recent arrests coming in 2024 for misdemeanor larceny, felony conspiracy and shoplifting, according to Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office records viewed by Fox News Digital.
Their father, Decarlos Brown Sr., has been arrested for allegedly breaking and entering, felony conspiracy, larceny and possession of a weapon on a university campus, according to the New York Post. Brown Sr. could not be reached for comment.
Together, these cases show a cycle of crime spanning generations, now culminating in Brown Jr.’s federal charge in the August 2025 killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a refugee who fled her war-torn city in Ukraine only to lose her life in a random, unprovoked attack on American soil.
Fast-forward to Aug. 22, when Zarutska was stabbed to death on a train.
The violent encounter was captured on train surveillance video. The Department of Justice (DOJ) noted in a complaint filed Tuesday that Brown Jr. was captured on camera leaving the train car with "blood dripping from him."
According to the police affidavit, Zarutska was stabbed three times in the middle of her throat after Brown Jr. allegedly used a pocket knife to attack her.
Federal authorities announced Tuesday that Brown Jr. has been federally charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
Brown was previously charged with first-degree murder in state court for allegedly stabbing Zarutska to death.
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