DeCarlos Brown Jr.’s attorneys want mental evaluation in light rail stabbing case
DeCarlos Brown Jr. for the first time appeared in Charlotte’s federal court since his August arrest in the light rail stabbing that launched the city’s public transit into international news.
It could be one of the last times he is seen in the building, court records indicate.
Brown was arrested in the death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska more than three months ago. He faces one state murder charge, as well as one federal charge of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death.
A pending evaluation of Brown’s mental state has kept him from appearing on his murder charge in the Mecklenburg County courthouse. Brown’s federal court hearing Thursday was brief and routine, but motions filed by his attorneys reveal where the case could go next.
Brown’s federal public defenders also want him to be mentally evaluated, they said in court records. They also made a point to outline the extensive media coverage of Brown and said they plan to soon file a motion on the transfer of Brown’s case to another district.
New filings in DeCarlos Brown Jr.’s federal case
Attorneys Joshua Kendrick, Megan Hoffman and Kelly Sullivan wrote that they have “serious concerns” about Brown and believe he is “suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent” and unable to understand the charges filed against him.
In a motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina Wednesday, the attorneys said he “has a documented history of both mental illness and his many attempts to seek treatment.” They cited a Charlotte Observer article detailing body-worn camera footage of officers’ last interaction with Brown before the stabbing.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department published those videos after the Observer filed a petition asking a judge to order their release.
Footage shows that police in January interacted with Brown outside a hospital, where he was trying to get doctors and officers to help him with the “man-made material” he said was controlling his every move. One officer, after speaking with Brown for about 20 minutes, learned that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and started to usher him toward taking medicine, body-worn camera videos show. That officer’s supervisor spent less than four minutes with Brown before shutting down the interaction and walking away.
When Brown called 911 again for help from different officers, the sergeant arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of misusing 911. He was released on a written promise to appear, and it is unclear if police or court workers ever connected Brown with mental health resources after that interaction.
Eight months later, video showed him stabbing Zarutska with a knife aboard the Charlotte Area Transit System’s LYNX Blue Line train in South End.
Light rail stabbing suspect’s first time in federal court
President Donald Trump called for Brown to face the death penalty after video of the stabbing was released. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson shortly after filed the federal charge against Brown. It carries the death penalty.
When U.S. marshals brought Brown into the federal courtroom at about 11 a.m. Thursday, he looked around the courtroom holding mostly lawyers and reporters. His family was not there.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Rodriguez — who was recently confirmed as the first woman to be a trial judge in the district court — read aloud the bill of indictment filed against Brown. She said a grand jury had charged him in the killing of “I.Z.” — Zarutska — aboard a mass transit system.
Typically, a judge will hold a detention hearing after reading aloud the charges a person faces. Since Brown is already being held on no bond in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, his attorney, Kendrick, waived the detention hearing and consented to keep Brown in custody.
Before the hearing, Kendrick and Brown’s other attorneys filed motions requesting it be delayed until next week. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Cervantes and Edward Ryan opposed that request, and a judge denied the request.
A judge had not ruled on the federal motions to have Brown evaluated as of Thursday afternoon.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 12:32 PM with the headline "DeCarlos Brown Jr.’s attorneys want mental evaluation in light rail stabbing case."
