Charlotte train stabbing federal case delayed over suspect’s mental competency | CNN

Proceedings in the federal case against Decarlos Brown Jr. — accused of fatally stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train last year — will be delayed after a judge agreed Brown is not competent to stand trial. Brown was committed Tuesday to the attorney general’s custody for transport to a secure federal medical facility, where he was ordered to undergo treatment for no more than four months. “The four-month period – as required by law – will give mental health professionals time to determine whether Mr. Brown is likely to become competent to continue with his federal criminal case,” Brown’s attorneys said in a court filing. If the four-month period expires and Brown shows strong signs of attaining competency, the court will consider continuing treatment for a “reasonable period,” according to US District Judge Kenneth Bell’s court order. Brown, 34, could face the death penalty in the killing of Zarutska, who was stabbed from behind with a pocketknife while seated and looking at her phone in an unprovoked attack on August 22, 2025. How the lives of a Ukrainian refugee and a Charlotte man with a criminal history converged in a fa