DeCarlos Brown Jr. has been found “incapable to proceed” on the state murder charge brought against him in the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, according to court filings.
Brown, a 35-year-old homeless man who previously told police he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, faces both state and federal murder charges in the August light rail stabbing of 23-year-old Zarutska. The results of his capacity evaluation were revealed in a motion his state public defender filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court on Tuesday.
In the motion, attorney Daniel Roberts asked a judge to again delay Brown’s Rule 24 hearing — in which prosecutors would have said whether they plan to seek the death penalty in the case.
President Donald Trump has called for Brown to face the death penalty, but a de-facto moratorium has blocked executions in North Carolina for the last 20 years.
The Rule 24 hearing scheduled for April 30 was previously delayed in order to give time for a capacity evaluation. Under state law, a defendant is capable to proceed if they can:
- understand the nature of their charges
- comprehend their role in court proceedings
- help their defense in a “rational and reasonable manner.”
Brown’s evaluation report was completed inside Central Regional Hospital on Dec. 29, Roberts wrote. But, even with the results ready, Brown cannot appear in state court.
He will remain in federal custody while his federal murder charge is pending, Roberts said in the motion. A U.S. magistrate judge previously ordered a second federal psychiatric exam for Brown’s federal case.
Roberts asked that the state hearing be paused for six months, and Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather’s prosecutors said they would be OK with that, Roberts wrote.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 11:44 AM.
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Julia Coin
The Charlotte Observer
Julia Coin covers courts, legal issues, police and public safety around Charlotte and is part of the Pulitzer-finalist team that covered Tropical Storm Helene in North Carolina. As the Observer’s breaking news reporter, she unveiled how fentanyl infiltrated local schools. Michigan-born and Florida-raised, she studied journalism at the University of Florida, where she covered statewide legislation, sexual assault on campus and Hurricane Ian in her hometown of Sanibel Island.
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