The Trump administration has pledged to continue the prosecution of DeCarlos Brown Jr, the man accused of murdering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina, despite a court filing indicating he was found incompetent to stand trial on state charges.
Brown's legal team said in a filing this week that a psychological evaluation found him 'incapable to proceed' to trial on state murder charges. However, US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, stated on social media that Brown remains in federal custody and that federal proceedings will take precedence.
The US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina also clarified that the state competency finding does not affect the separate federal case, where Brown could face the death penalty. Federal prosecutors confirmed they will move forward with the indictment.
Brown is accused of slashing Zarutska's throat on a train in Charlotte in August 2025, an attack captured on surveillance footage that sparked international outrage. Zarutska had fled the war in Ukraine months earlier.
Brown's attorney, Daniel Roberts, said the suspect failed a capacity evaluation in December, leading a psychiatrist to deem him unfit for state trial. Brown has a history of prior arrests, including armed robbery and assault, and had been released on a written promise to appear in court just months before the killing.
