Family of Ukrainian woman stabbed on light rail sues city

The estate of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on Charlotte's Lynx Blue Line light rail last August, has sued the city and its security contractor Professional Police Services Inc. for wrongful death.

The complaint, filed by her uncle Frank Scott Haskell, alleges the city knew of rising violent crime on the line — including four homicides between December 2024 and Zarutska's death — while cutting armed security staffing from a high of 88 down to as few as 39 in 2025, and never enforced fares or installed access barriers that might have kept the suspect off the train.

Suspect Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., who had no ticket that night, faces state murder charges and a federal transit-death charge; he was found incompetent to stand trial and is currently hospitalized. Brown had been released on a written promise to appear after a January 2025 arrest and has a criminal record including a prior armed robbery conviction and untreated schizophrenia.

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