Here’s the reason Decarlos Brown Jr’s family is ‘blaming the state’ for Iryna Zarutska’s murder

Decarlos Brown Jr could be facing the death penalty for the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, and while his family have condemned his “atrocious” crimes, they have also claimed that the state of North Carolina holds some blame.

Iryna was buried in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the end of August after she was slashed “three times” on her bus ride home from work. In footage that has since been shared by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), Decarlos Brown Jr exited the bus at the next stop, where he was arrested by police.

“My heart goes out to the victim’s family. What he did was atrocious. It was horrible. It was wrong,” his mother, Michelle Dewitt, told reporters.

Following Michelle’s statement about Decarlos’ mental state in the months leading up to the attack, his sister shared similar stories about him “seeking help” on more than one occasion.

Decarlos Brown Jr’s crimes were condemned by his mother

Credit: Charlotte Area Transit System

When speaking to reporters after the death of Iryna Zarutska, Michelle revealed that her son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In total, Decarlos Brown Jr had been charged with 14 times with various crimes, ranging from larceny to breaking and entering, and his mother claimed he was “different” after a five-year prison stint for robbery with a dangerous weapon.

“He wasn’t the normal Carlos, the fun Carlos,” she told ABC News.

Though she did attempt to have him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, the hospital allegedly told her, “You can’t make a person come.” She later managed to secure a court order for his care, but Decarlos spent just 14 days in the hospital before being released.

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“We’re just not going to do it anymore,” Michelle recalled feeling. “We dropped him off at a shelter.”

Credit: Twitter

Decarlos’ most recent arrest came in January when he placed a 911 call claiming there was a microchip in his head controlling his actions. He was charged with “misuse of the 911 system”, but no mental health support was given.

“Brown wanted officers to investigate this ‘man-made’ material that was inside of his body,” his arrest affidavit read. “Officers advised Brown that the issue was a medical issue and that there was nothing further they could do,”

His sister detailed an extensive history of mental illness

Decarlos Brown Jr’s sister, Tracey Brown, has since spoken to numerous publications about the conversations she had with her brother behind bars. He blamed the foreign “materials” in his body for his actions, according to the prison audio viewed by the MailOnline.

Credit: Instagram

“He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society. We know what he has been dealing with the last three years. And now an innocent woman is dead,” Tracey said. “He was asking and crying for help, and no one heard him or took him seriously. He reached a level of his mental illness that caused him to commit a heinous crime.”

Tracey “strongly” believes he should not have been on the streets in the first place, instead receiving help for what was clearly a crippling mental health disorder.

“He did call 911, trying to express what he was dealing with. Of course, no one can understand or agree, [but] he was reaching out for help in a lot of ways. And I’m not making any excuses for him. Except to say he was mentally ill. That’s all I can say, he’s mentally ill,” Tracey also told The New York Post.

In another interview with ABC, she added, “I am saying that if he had the proper care this wouldn’t have happened.”

Decarlos Brown Jr’s next hearing is on September 19.

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Featured image credit: Charlotte Area Transit System