Trump Calls for Death Penalty for Ukrainian Refugee’s Suspected Killer, ‘There Can Be No Other Option’

President Trump called Wednesday for the death penalty for Decarlos Brown Jr., accused of fatally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train.

“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “There can be no other option!!!”

Surveillance footage shows Zarutska being stabbed repeatedly with a pocket knife while riding a Lynx Blue Line train on Aug. 22.

Brown, 34, now faces a federal charge of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, along with state first-degree murder charges.

Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to “seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime,” saying the suspect “will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” Bondi said on X. “I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime, and he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.

I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with…

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) September 9, 2025