Homeless man accused of killing Ukrainian refugee has long, disturbing rap sheet

The homeless man who allegedly murdered a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee has a long and disturbing criminal history that includes assaulting his own sister just months after being freed from prison.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, has been charged with fatally stabbing Iryna Zarutska, who recently fled her war-torn home for a safer life in the US, at a train station in Charlotte on Friday.

Brown is a serial criminal who has spent most of his adult life in and out of jail.

His rap sheet goes back to 2011 and includes felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, according to court records obtained by The Post.

He even served five years in prison for armed robbery, only to be arrested for assaulting his sister just months after he was released in September 2020, the Daily Mail reported.

The February 2021 attack left his sibling with minor injuries, according to a police report obtained by the outlet.

The menace’s most recent arrest before he allegedly knifed Zarutska was in January, when police conducted a welfare check on him, and he asked them to investigate a “man-made material” inside his body that was controlling his actions, according to an affidavit obtained by The Charlotte Observer.

Officers then advised Brown that he was suffering a medical issue and that there was nothing more they could do to help him.

Their response made him upset, leading him to call 911. He was then arrested for abusing the 911 system, according to the Observer. 

The disturbed felon allegedly ambushed Zarutska with a knife at the East/West Boulevard light rail station in South End just before 10 p.m., the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Saturday.

The young, blonde beauty suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Zarutska had “recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to fundraise for the young woman’s aunt and other family members during the “heartbreaking time.”