New footage shows the heartbreaking final moments of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska as she bled out on a packed North Carolina train.
The extended video — which Daily Mail is not showing in full due to its shocking nature — shows a visibly scared Zarutska cower in fear after the unprovoked attack.
She then put her hands over her face as blood from the attacker’s knife dripped on the floor around her. About 15 seconds later, she fell to the floor, the video shows.
After the attack, the surveillance video plays audio of someone saying ‘… got that white girl’.
It is not clear whether it is alleged killer Decarlos Brown Jr making the comments, as has been claimed, or another passenger. Iryna Zarutska is the only white passenger seen on the video.
The sickening attack unfolded on August 22, soon after Zarutska, 23, boarded a South End light rail train in Charlotte and sat in front of Brown, 34.
At a press conference on Tuesday, officials said that the stabbing unfolded just four minutes after Zarutska sat down, and noted that she was stabbed a total of three times in her neck and hands with a pocket knife.
Footage showed blood being trailed through the train moments later, with a man in a grey hoodie standing up and following Brown while a woman wearing red glanced over before turning back to a window.
US Attorney Russ Ferguson said that Zarutska had recently moved in with a partner when she was killed, and in recent days her family declined to have her body returned to Ukraine, telling authorities she would have wanted to be buried in the US because ‘she loved America.’
New footage shows the heartbreaking final moments of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska as she bled out on a packed North Carolina train last month
Zatutska looked up at her attacker as he loomed over her following the unprovoked attack, before grasping at her face and falling to the floor
A man in a grey hoodie then stands up as Zarutska grabs her face, and follows Brown as he walks through the carriage through several other passengers. A woman wearing red briefly looked over at Zarutska before turning back to a window
Zarutska’s heartbroken family said that she had only recently arrived in the US ‘seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning’ before the random slaying
On Tuesday, it was announced that Brown has been charged federally in the chilling case, which raises the possibility he could face the death penalty if convicted.
Officials said at the press conference Tuesday that the federal charges are based on violence against a mass transportation system, which Ferguson said constituted an ‘attack on the American way.’
Brown would become the first person executed in North Carolina since 2006 if convicted.
Brown’s arrest sparked national attention on Zarutska’s death and ignited debates over the US criminal justice system, with it revealed that he has at least 14 prior cases in Mecklenburg County.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that Zarutska’s ‘murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.’
Bondi said she has directed her attorneys to prosecute him federally so the Trump administration ‘will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime, and he will never again see the light of day as a free man.’
The horror stabbing ignited a social media storm and has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s vows to launch a hardline crackdown on crime across the nation.
The sickening stabbing unfolded on August 22 soon after Iryna Zarutska, 23, boarded a South End light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina
Brown was seen in the footage watching Zarutska for some time after she sat in the seat in front of him
Brown was seen in the footage leaving a trail of blood throughout the train as other passengers appeared not to realize the killing had taken place
Donald Trump addressed the heinous crime on Tuesday, saying, Zarutska was ‘slaughtered by a deranged monster who was roaming free after 14 prior arrests.’
‘For too long, Americans have been forced to put up with Democrat-run cities that set loose savage, bloodthirsty criminals to prey on innocent people — really, very, very innocent people,’ Trump said.
‘We saw the results of these policies when a 23-year-old woman who came here from Ukraine met her bloody end on a public train.
‘This is a picture of the woman — beautiful, young girl that never had problems in life, with a magnificent future in this country. And now she’s dead,’ the president added.
‘She was slaughtered by a deranged monster who was roaming free after 14 prior arrests. We cannot allow a depraved criminal element of violent repeat offenders to continue spreading destruction and death throughout our country.’
Brown’s arrest sparked national attention on Zarutska’s death and ignited debates over the US criminal justice system, with it revealed that he has at least 14 prior cases in Micklenburg County
Brown was arrested soon after and charged with first-degree murder. His bond was subsequently denied by a judge and he remains in custody.
Zarutska’s heartbroken family said on a GoFundMe page that she had only arrived in the US in 2022 ‘seeking safety from the war’ in her home country, and ‘hoping for a new beginning’ before the slaying.
Brown was revealed to be a career criminal who has spent most of his life in and out of prison.
A Daily Mail review of police records found that he was charged with misusing 911 as recently as January, when he told cops he believed someone had given him a ‘man-made’ material that controlled his actions.
He was released without bail and a trial pending when he allegedly stabbed Zaruska to death.
Brown served five years in prison for a 2014 armed robbery and was released in September 2020.
In February 2021, Brown was arrested for assaulting his sister in Charlotte and leaving her with minor injuries, according to police records obtained by the Daily Mail.
That same month, he was again arrested for injury to personal property and trespassing.
A police report from that incident said Brown ‘returned to the address after being told he was not allowed back and kicked and damaged the front door of the listed victim’s residence.’
In July 2022, Brown was arrested for a domestic disturbance.
Suspect Decarlos Brown, 35, has spent most of his life in and out of prison. Brown served five years for a 2014 armed robbery and was released in September 2020 – when he quickly resumed a life of crime
‘[Brown] was arrested for disorderly conduct. The suspect was yelling and cursing, causing a disturbance and drawing the attention of multiple tenants while on the property,’ a police report read.
Brown’s arrest records go as back as 2007, when he was still a minor.
Over the next seven years, he was arrested at least six times for crimes including felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats.
According to the Charlotte Observer, most of the charges he faced during that time were dropped.
When reached for comment, the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office told the Daily Mail Tuesday it cannot speak about defendants with pending cases.
‘In broad terms, it remains the position of the District Attorney’s office that those who commit violent crimes should be held in custody pending trial,’ the DA’s said.
Brown’s latest alleged crime is his most serious.
Local Councilman Edwin Peacock demanded answers from authorities, noting the community no longer feels safe to ride public transportation.
In February 2021, Brown was arrested for assaulting his sister in Charlotte and leaving her with minor injuries
Zarutska’s family called her death ‘an irreparable loss’
‘Right now, the trust and confidence that we have right now, and particularly between South End and Uptown, it’s very fragile right now,’ he said.
‘The story is heart-wrenching, and if, obviously what we’re hearing is true, clearly we need to give that family answers.
‘And we, more importantly, need to give all the citizens who are riding the light rail a lot of confidence that you’re going to be safe.’
Zarutska’s family called her death ‘an irreparable loss’ on the GoFundMe page.
She had been ‘hoping for a new beginning’ when she moved to North Carolina, the family said.
‘We have created this fundraiser to support Valeria and her loved ones during this heartbreaking time and to help them with the unexpected expenses.’
