The man accused of killing a Ukrainian refugee in 2025 on a Charlotte light rail was deemed “incapable to proceed” on the state murder charge brought against him, according to court documents.

DeCarlos Brown Jr. faces both state and federal murder charges in the Aug. 22, 2025, light rail stabbing of Iryna Zarutska. She was 23 years old.

Court documents show an evaluation dated Dec. 29, 2025, at Central Regional Hospital  found Brown “incapable to proceed.”

Brown’s attorney, Daniel Roberts, asked a judge on Tuesday to delay Brown’s Rule 24 (competency) hearing for 180 days. The case is currently scheduled for April 30.

North Carolina law states that a defendant is capable to proceed if they can:

• Understand the nature and object of the proceedings
• Comprehend his or her situation in reference to the proceedings
• Assist in his or her defense in a rational or reasonable manner

Roberts wrote that Brown will remain in federal custody while his federal murder charge is pending.

After Zarutska’s death, North Carolina passed Iryna’s Law. It went into effect on Dec. 1, 2025.

The law requires stricter scrutiny of judges and magistrates who consider allowing suspects out of jail while they await trial. It bans one type of cashless bail in North Carolina. And it makes it easier for people who have a history of mental health issues to be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital after an arrest.

Brown’s previous criminal and mental history may have been considered had this law been passed previously.

His mother previously told WSOC-TV that he had been arrested more than a dozen times and suffers from mental health issues.

Brown’s criminal record shows some charges were dismissed but others ended in convictions,  including for several felonies related to thefts committed in 2013 and 2014. Those convictions landed him in prison from 2015 to 2020.

Since being released from prison, court records show a 2022 financial dispute with the government over a $2,500 bond forfeiture and the allegation of misusing the 911 system. However, he had serious crime allegations until the alleged murder of Zarutska.

The law also attempts to bring back the death penalty in North Carolina, ordering the administration of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to find a solution to get around the fact that lethal injections are essentially banned due to a series of court rulings and other factors.

No one has been executed in North Carolina since 2006, even though more than 120 prisoners remain on death row.