Murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was not buried in her native land at the request of her family, US Attorney Russ Ferguson has claimed.
The 23-year-old was stabbed to death on a light rail train in North Carolina on August 22, and 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. has been charged with her murder.
According to the US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolin and FBI agent James Barnacle, the Ukrainian embassy offered assistance to get Zarutska’s body back to her homeland, but her family wanted her laid to rest in the USA because ‘she loved America’.
Iryna Zarutska was murdered while riding the train
Her murder has shocked the country and even caused President Donald Trump to speak out about his anger and sadness at the ‘horrible actions’ committed.
Zarutska had only recently arrived in the USA seeking ‘new beginnings’ after leaving war-torn Ukraine, but was killed in horrific fashion as she rode the Charlotte Area Transit System in her work clothes.
Footage showed her boarding the train at East/West Boulevard in South End at around 9:45PM on August 22, sitting down in front of a man in a red hooded jacket.
In the video, as in an affidavit from a police detective: “The train travels for approximately four-and-[a]-half minutes before the suspect pulls [a] knife from his pocket, unfolds the knife, pauses, then stands up, and strikes at the victim three times.”
The suspect then moved through the car, passing other passengers who were seemingly unaware of what had happened.
Once the reality became clear, they rushed to help.
Decarlos Brown, a 34-year-old homeless man, was arrested days later and charged with first-degree murder.
Zarutska’s body was not taken back to Ukraine
In a press conference, Ferguson and Barnacle revealed that the Ukrainian embassy had reached out to offer help with the repatriation of her body, but that Iryna’s mother and uncle had declined, stating that ‘she loved America’.
Ferguson said: “After Iryna's death, the Embassy in Ukraine called and said, 'We'll help you bring her home.'
“Her family said, 'no, she loved America, we're gonna bury her here.'
“I think we can give her an America to be proud of.
“Something here's broken, and we're here to fix it.”
Since the incident, Donald Trump has called for the alleged murderer to receive the death penalty, and that the trial should be ‘quick’.
Writing on his own Truth Social, Trump said: “The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY.”
He concluded: “There can be no other option!”
Brown is known to have an extensive criminal record dating back to 2011, and has reportedly been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
He was released from prison in 2020, before being arrested again in 2022 for an assault on a woman.
Brown was also arrested in January 2025 for misuse of the 911 call system.
That case will require a forensic evaluator to assess his condition.