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Crime runs deep in Decarlos Brown Jr.’s family. The homeless felon now accused of stabbing a young Ukrainian commuter to death on a Charlotte light rail train comes from a household where run-ins with the law have been a way of life.
Court records and law enforcement documents viewed by Fox News Digital reveal a disturbing family legacy: Stacey Dejon Brown, the older brother of the alleged killer, is locked up on a 27- to-36-year sentence for the 2012 shotgun slaying of a 65-year-old man during a robbery.
His sister, 33-year-old Tracey Vontrea Brown, has a criminal record that includes misdemeanor shoplifting, larceny, felony conspiracy, vehicle theft and resisting public officers, with her most recent arrests coming in 2024 for misdemeanor larceny, felony conspiracy and shoplifting, according to Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office records viewed by Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to Vontrae Brown.
IRYNA ZARUTSKA’S FAMILY DEMANDS JUSTICE IN FIRST STATEMENT SINCE ‘HORRIFIC’ STABBING
Decarlos Brown Jr. is pictured before allegedly stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light rail train on Aug. 22, 2025. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
Their father, Decarlos Brown Sr., has been arrested for allegedly breaking and entering, felony conspiracy, larceny and possession of a weapon on a university campus, according to the New York Post. Brown Sr. could not be reached for comment.
Together, these cases show a cycle of crime spanning generations, now culminating in Brown Jr.’s federal charge in the August 2025 killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a refugee who fled her war-torn city in Ukraine only to lose her life in a random, unprovoked attack on American soil.
Stacey Dejon Brown pleaded guilty in 2014 to second-degree murder and armed robbery in the shooting death of 65-year-old Robert Heym. He was sentenced to 27–36 years in prison, according to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. (Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office)
GOFUNDME PULLS FUNDRAISERS FOR FELON ACCUSED OF KILLING COMMUTER IN RANDOM CHARLOTTE TRAIN ATTACK
Brown Jr.’s brother, Stacey, used the Charlotte light rail to flee police apprehension in a 2012 Queen City murder.
According to a press release from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office and coverage by WBTV, then-22-year-old Stacey Brown pleaded guilty in April 2014 to a string of violent offenses, including second-degree murder, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill and breaking or entering a motor vehicle, all tied to the October 2012 fatal shooting of 65-year-old Robert Heym during a robbery.
Prosecutors revealed that after gunning down Heym, Stacey and his accomplice, Roderick Derrick Crawford, 21, boarded the train and made their exit at the transit center.
Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska came to the U.S. to escape war but was stabbed to death in Charlotte on Aug. 22, 2025. (Evgeniya Rush/GoFundMe)
Stabbing victim Iryna Zarutsk fled Ukraine for the U.S. (GoFundMe)
Fast-forward to Aug. 22, and a similar backdrop took place, with Zarutska stabbed to death on a train.
The violent encounter was captured on train surveillance video. The Department of Justice (DOJ) noted in a complaint filed Tuesday that Brown Jr. was captured on camera leaving the train car with “blood dripping from him.”
According to the police affidavit, Zarutska was stabbed three times in the middle of her throat after Brown Jr. allegedly used a pocket knife to attack her.
WATCH: Slain Ukrainian refugee’s family demands justice after Charlotte murder
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HITS CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING SUSPECT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES
Federal authorities announced Tuesday that Brown Jr. has been federally charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
“Iryna Zarutska had likely taken that train ride many times before. She was probably tired after a day at work and just wanted to go home, but tragically she never made it,” James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Charlotte special agent in charge, said Tuesday. “We hope this federal charge will help bring her family a measure of justice and the courts will hold the subject charged in this horrific act accountable. Everyone in this country deserves to go to work, to school or just across town without fear of being attacked.”
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)
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Brown was previously charged with first-degree murder in state court for allegedly stabbing Zarutska to death.