Bystanders Tried To Help Charlotte Stabbing Victim In Her Dying Moments

Newly released footage from the murder of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, N.C. captures the moments when bystanders tried to help her as she bled on the floor of a public train.

Passengers gathered around in an apparent attempt to massage Iryna Zarutska’s wounds after she was fatally stabbed on the night of Aug. 22, as shown in extended video footage released Tuesday by Headline USA. The suspect, a mentally ill homeless man with a lengthy criminal record, now faces local and federal charges and could be put to death if convicted in federal court, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday.

The assailant, identified as DeCarlos Brown, is seen on surveillance video seated behind Zarutska for several minutes before suddenly standing up, raising his arm and stabbing her three times. Zarutska, 23, looked up in shock as the stabber began pacing around the train, blood dripping from him.

Zarutska put her face in her hands and slowly tipped over, falling unconscious, as the suspect remarked, “I got that white girl. I got that white girl,” the video shows. One of Zarutska’s stab wounds was to the middle of her throat, according to a police affidavit. Brown was later found on an outbound platform for the light rail system, police said.

After passengers gathered around Zarutska, a young man was seen laying her on her back as blood began spilling across the floor of the train and appeared to wipe her neck with napkins. One person was heard exclaiming, “Oh, my God” as others became aware of the situation.