The madman accused of slaughtering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina screamed at the judge on Tuesday as he was ruled not fit to stand trial for a second time.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, ranted about having “material in his body” and experiencing a “body emergency” during the brief hearing at the federal courthouse in Charlotte, Queen City News reported.
He also shouted about wanting to press charges against the FBI and asked the judge whether he had reviewed his evaluation and a letter from his mother, the outlet reported.
Brown is facing federal and state charges in the shocking August 2025 stabbing death of Zarutska, 23, on board a Charlotte Blue Line light rail, in a case that drew global attention.
The suspected killer will now receive medication and treatment for up to four months to try to restore his competency.
If Brown does not become competent, he could be held in custody under federal commitment laws, and a later court hearing could determine whether he can be forcibly medicated.
He was previously evaluated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago through the Bureau of Prisons, where mental health evaluators spent hours meeting with Brown in person and reviewing audio and video recordings of him before making their recommendation.
Prosecutors, including the Assistant US Attorney, did not present any additional evidence during Tuesday morning’s 15-minute hearing
Federal authorities insisted that this is not the end of the fight to bring Zarutska’s alleged killer to trial eventually.
“The court found that his prognosis is ‘good’ to be made competent and set a four-month deadline to have that process go forward,” US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said outside court on Tuesday, as reported by WBTV.
“The court ordered that he seek treatment and medication,” Ferguson said, adding that Brown will remain in federal custody throughout his treatment, which will be conducted in person by a doctor over several meetings.
“Our number one goal here is justice for Iryna Zarutska and Iryna Zarutska’s family. That’s what’s on the top of our minds and our hearts every day, and this is a step in that process,” he said.
“We have to make sure that we have a case that is airtight on appeal, airtight on post-conviction litigation. We have to make sure the defendant has all the due process that the Constitution affords him, and this is one step in that process,” Ferguson said.
He was also asked about Brown’s outburst during his hearing.
“It wasn’t entirely clear what he was yelling out. We’ve seen since the beginning of this case, he says there’s some sort of material that controls him and I think it was related to that. And that plays a little bit of a role in why he was found not competent to stand trial,” Ferguson said.
Zarutska, who had fled her native Ukraine as a refugee after Russia invaded her country, was returning home from her job at a pizza restaurant when authorities say Brown fatally stabbed her on a train on the night of Aug. 22, 2025.
Horrific surveillance video from the carriage appeared to show Brown sitting behind Zarutska, before standing up and plunging a knife into her neck.
The young woman died minutes later on the train, while Brown fled the scene before he was arrested shortly after.
He was initially charged with first-degree murder at state level, before being charged with two federal offenses as well.
Brown was previously found not competent to stand trial on the state’s case following a mental health evaluation on Dec. 29, 2025, the results of which were formally made public in a court motion filed April 7.
A separate evaluation carried out by the DoJ’s Bureau of Prisons also determined he was incompetent to stand trial on his federal charges.
