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Audio has surfaced of a phone call between Charlotte train stabbing suspect Decarlos Brown and his sister, Tracey Brown, recorded just days after he was taken into custody for allegedly stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a light rail train.
The conversation, recorded on Aug. 28, just six days after the deadly attack, was provided to the Daily Mail by Brown’s sister. It marked the first time the 34-year-old suspect has been heard speaking since the stabbing.
In the audio, Brown can be heard admitting that he injured his hand during the stabbing, while acknowledging that he did not know Zarutska and had never spoken to her.
“I hurt my hand, stabbing her. I don’t even know the lady,” Brown told his sister. “I never said not one word to the lady at all. That’s scary, ain’t it. Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason?”
CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING SUSPECT’S BROTHER SAYS KILLING COULD HAVE BEEN ‘PREVENTED’
Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during an attack on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
Brown, who according to family members has a history of mental illness, went on to claim that the government had implanted “materials” in his brain that were “controlling” his actions. He insisted that investigators should look into the implanted “materials,” saying that they were responsible for his violent outburst.
Tracey Brown, 33, pressed her brother for answers during the conversation, asking him directly why he targeted Zarutska. She described the attack as senseless and heartbreaking, particularly given Zarutska’s background.
“Out of all people, why her?” Tracey asked her brother, according to the Daily Mail. “She’s from the Ukraine, she’s from Russia and they had a war going on against the United States, so I’m just trying to understand, of all people, why her?”
“They just lashed out on her, that’s what happened,” Decarlos replied. “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.”
Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska came to the U.S. to escape war but was stabbed to death in Charlotte on Friday, Aug. 22. (Evgeniya Rush/GoFundMe)
The young refugee had fled war-torn Ukraine in 2022 in search of safety in the United States, only to be killed in what authorities describe as a random, unprovoked attack.
The commuter, who was still wearing her pizzeria uniform, was captured on train surveillance video cowering as her attacker towered over her minutes before the attack.
GOFUNDME PULLS FUNDRAISERS FOR FELON ACCUSED OF KILLING COMMUTER IN RANDOM CHARLOTTE TRAIN ATTACK
Booking photo of Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., taken Aug. 28, 2025, days after the fatal light-rail stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
Federal authorities announced Tuesday that Decarlos Brown has been federally charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
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He has also been charged with first-degree murder in state court for allegedly stabbing Zarutska to death.
Her family said Zarutska was a passionate artist and graduate of Synergy College in Kyiv, where she earned a degree in art and restoration. She was remembered for her creativity, her love of animals, her determination and her eagerness to learn.