Charlotte, North Carolina – Erina Zarutska’s uncle, the Ukrainian woman who stabbed a fatal while riding on the Charlotte Light track late last month, spoke after the death of his niece, saying on Friday that she “does not deserve” to be killed.
“Irina was … it was a family glue,” he told the uncle, who asked not to name “Good Morning America”.
Zarutska, 23, was stabbed on August 22, just before 10 pm while riding the blue lymph line in Charlotte, according to a written statement obtained by ABC News.
The latest version of the video attack caused national anger, as President Donald Trump is calling for the suspect, Decorus Brown, 34, a “death penalty” as social media on Wednesday.
Zarutska said that the victim’s uncle, who described his sister’s daughter as “comforter” and “close”. The officials said Zarutska lived in a shelter for bombs before arriving in the United States
He said Zarutska immediately wanted to go to work as soon as he arrived in the United States. After receiving the appropriate papers, she worked in a sandwich store and a living house with the help of her mother, according to her uncle.
Zarutska, who was working in a local pizza at the time of her death, had a “strong desire for a better life” and was planning to go to school to become a veterinarian, according to her uncle. He indicated that she was taking lessons in English at the Community College.
Declaos Brown faces the murder after he stabbed a woman to death on the Transit Charlotte train on August 22, 2025.
Her uncle said that her aspirations were “taken from us” on the night of August 22.
That night, Zarutska had just completed the work and “wrote her boyfriend to the house soon,” according to a statement issued by her family lawyer.
The written certificate indicated that he had seen the train and sat in the corridor seat in front of the suspect, who was seen wearing an orange shirt.
The testimony said that the train travels to “about four and a half minutes before the suspect pulled a knife from his pocket, the knife is exposed, stops temporarily, then stands, and strikes the victim three times.”
“If you watched the video, you can see, it just came and took the first seat that was available to her. It seems that she did not realize that there is any danger,” her uncle said.
The Zarutska family watched her death footage at the same time as the audience, according to her uncle.
A man in Arena Zarutska, who was a Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed by a man while riding the Charlotte train.
“I watched the video – it was terrible, completely terrible. She did not deserve it and no one did. It was very difficult for the family.”
The statement said that Zarutska’s death was announced at the scene and one of the witnesses was responsible for the suspect’s site.
The family lawyer said in a statement that their loved ones were “anxious” when Zarutska did not reach her apartment “at the expected time”, as her phone site showed that she was still at the train station.
“On their arrival at the station, they were destroyed to find out that Erena had died at the scene,” the family lawyer said.
He pointed out that his uncle, who was outside the city when his niece was killed, his wife told him that he was “returning home now” when the family was alerted from the death of Zarutska.
“She expressed her gratitude and happiness here in the United States,” he said in the last text message he received from Zarutska.
The Charlot region of CATS confirmed to ABC News that there was no security on the train at the time of the attack, where a spokesman for the security team said, “It is running in the system, it is not concentrated in one field.”
In the wake of Zarutska’s death, her uncle said that “things need change.”
“Our country must change about how we deal with these situations, and this requires our leadership to take action, and I need to take action,” he said.
The Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday that Brown, who was arrested on charges of killing Zarutska on the same night in which it was killed, was accused by the US Prosecutor’s Office in the West Province in North Carolina of committing an act that caused a death system, which could make him qualified to death.
The suspect has a criminal record, including theft, breach and charge. He also spent five years in prison for stealing with a dangerous weapon starting in 2015, according to the Ministry of Adult Correction in North Carolina.
In total, Brown was charged 14 times in the past, including the arrest in January, but it was “still in the streets” leading to the attack.
Brown’s mother and sister said that he had struggled with mental illness for years after he was released from prison and that he claimed that there was a “substance” in his body controlling him. His mother, Michelle Dewit, told ABC News on Wednesday that her son had schizophrenia and was given medications, but she said he refused to take them.
The next court of Bru they will appear on September 19, according to the court records. It is not clear if Brown has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.
Although the Ukrainian embassy arrives in the Zarutska family, her uncle said that she was buried in the United States, with her father – who is still in Kiev – is watching on the face, who is “sad” after the death of his daughter.
Once the news of her death was circulated, Zarutska’s uncle said that he remembers communication from society, describing her as “incredible.” When she was alive, he said that Zarutska would paint murals in people’s homes and take care of their dogs and children, but he did not realize how “many people touched in a very short period of time.”
“I lost the family members in my life, of course, but just the flow of support from my neighbors, that was great.”
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