NEW: Feds Charge Iryna Zarutska’s Criminal Killer, Putting Death Penalty On The Table

The Justice Department announce Tuesday that the man accused of killing a Ukrainian refugee in an unprovoked attack in Charlotte, North Carolina will now be facing federal charges. The latest announcement means that the accused killer could now face the death penalty.

Iryna Zarutska suffered multiple knife wounds and was pronounced dead at the East/West Boulevard light rail station in South End, Charlotte just before 10 p.m. this past Friday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Saturday.

According to a GoFundMe page established by the victim’s family, Zarutska had “recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” the page reads. “Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon.”

Horrific footage of the scene shows the alleged killer, Decarlos Brown Jr., a 34-year-old homeless individual, stabbing Zarutska with a butcher knife after she sat down on a city bus. Brown — who has a lengthy criminal history — then got up and left the bus as the victim bled to death.

Photo: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced that Brown will face federal charges questions swirl surrounding his release. The accused killer had 14 criminal cases brought against him by the time of the attack, including a robbery with a deadly weapon conviction that resulted in a five-year prison stint.

Brown was initially arrested at the scene of the Zarutska stabbing and charged with first-degree murder by North Carolina prosecutors. He is now facing a federal charge of causing death on a mass transportation system, which carries up to life in prison or the death penalty.

“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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a statement. “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.”

The death penalty is still a potential penalty for anyone convicted of first-degree murder in North Carolina, though the state has not carried out an execution since 2006.

Brown was arrested at least 14 times in Mecklenburg County over the past decade. This past July, his public defender made a motion questioning his ability to proceed in a court case involving misuse of the 911 emergency system.

That criminal charged stemmed from a January incident, when police said he called 911 and claimed someone gave him man-made material that controlled when he ate, talked and walked. The judge in that case ordered a forensic evaluation, but ultimately released Brown with a written notice to appear, according to local outlet WSOC-TV.

“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic,” President Donald Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post after being briefed on the case.

“The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.”