In the heart of Charlotte, a young woman’s dreams of safety were shattered in an instant.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who fled war to find peace in America, was brutally stabbed to death on August 22, 2025.

The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., a man with a troubled past and a history of mental illness, now claims from behind bars that mysterious "materials" implanted in his body drove him to kill.

His chilling words raise questions not only about his sanity but about a system that let him walk free—until it was too late.

Brown, 34, charged with the first-degree murder of Zarutska, spoke from Mecklenburg County Jail in a recorded phone call with his sister, Tracy Brown, on August 28, 2025.

In the audio, obtained by The Daily Mail, Brown insisted that government-implanted "materials" compelled him to commit the unprovoked attack on a Charlotte Lynx Blue Line train.

"The material – put it like that – the material using my body. It's that. You know, that's not me," Brown said. "I'm talking about just for no reason. But since they did that, since they did that, now they got to investigate the material my body exposed to. Since they want to do all that, now they got to investigate."

He continued, "They just lashed out on her, that's what happened. Whoever was working the materials, they lashed out on her. That's all there is to it. Now they really gotta investigate what my body was exposed to … Now they gotta do an investigation as to who was the motive behind what happened."

The attack, captured on surveillance footage, occurred at 9:46 p.m. on August 22, 2025.

Zarutska, engrossed in her phone with earbuds in, was seated in front of Brown.

Moments later, he allegedly pulled a pocket knife, stood, and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing.

Zarutska, who had fled Ukraine’s war with Russia to build a new life in the U.S., died at the scene.

Brown, diagnosed with schizophrenia, has a criminal history spanning over a decade, with 14 arrests and convictions for felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault.

Released from prison in 2020 after a six-year sentence, he was arrested in January 2025 for misusing 911, claiming "man-made material" controlled his actions.

Despite a judge ordering a competency evaluation in July, it was not completed, and Brown remained free until the murder.

Zarutska’s family, devastated, demands justice.

"We are heartbroken beyond words," a family spokesperson said. "Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way."

Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced federal charges against Brown, including murder on a mass transportation system, vowing to seek the maximum penalty.

President Donald Trump has called for a swift trial and the death penalty.

Brown’s family, while condemning his actions, blames systemic failures.

"The system failed him,” his mother told WSOC-TV, citing years of untreated mental health issues.

Tracy Brown told CNN her brother believed Zarutska was "reading his mind" that night, adding, "A person that is hearing voices in their head and believes the world is against them, they’re going to break."

Brown’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 19, 2025. If convicted, he faces life in prison or the death penalty.

A young woman’s hope for a better life, snuffed out in a flash of violence — a troubled man, haunted by voices and a system that failed to intervene.

As Charlotte grapples with grief and outrage, the questions linger: Could this tragedy have been prevented? And will justice for Iryna Zarutska mean confronting not just a killer, but the failures that let him slip through the cracks?

For now, a city mourns, a family weeps, and a nation wonders—how many more must fall before the system listens?