A 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who had fled the war was fatally stabbed at a North Carolina train station last week in an attack police say was carried out by a homeless man with a long criminal history.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police identified the victim as Iryna Zarutska, who was found dead around 10:30 p.m. at the East/West Boulevard light rail station in Charlotte’s South End. She had sustained multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, a homeless man with a lengthy criminal record, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Authorities said Brown will be formally detained once he is released from Atrium Health, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Court records show Brown has faced legal issues since at least 2011, including convictions for communicating threats, robbery with a deadly weapon, and felony larceny. He previously served about five years in prison for the robbery conviction, while other charges were dismissed. He is also facing pending charges for allegedly abusing the 911 system in January 2025. During a welfare check earlier this year, Brown told police that a "man-made material" had been implanted in his body to control his movements, speech, and eating habits, according to court filings.

Police have not released a motive in the killing, nor clarified whether the attack took place on the train or on the platform. The case is being investigated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Homicide Unit, led by Detective Buhr, who has urged anyone with information to come forward.

Following Zarutska’s death, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist her aunt, Valeria, and other family members. Organizers wrote that Zarutska "had recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning," calling her death "an irreparable loss" for her loved ones.