RALEIGH — A formal federal indictment was filed last week in the Charlotte murder case of Iryna Zarutska.
Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, filed paperwork formally indicting Decarlos Brown, the man accused of killing Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail system in August.
The indictment says Brown intentionally killed Zarutska, and the formal charge is “Violence Against a Railroad Carrier and Mass Transportation System Resulting in Death.”
Brown was formally indicted on Oct. 22, exactly two months after Zarutska’s murder in August.
In an interview with Fox News host Jesse Waters following the indictment, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the U.S. Department of Justice will be seeking the death penalty for Brown.
The indictment notes Brown’s past criminal conviction “of one or more Federal or State offenses punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year, involving the use and attempted use and threatened use of a firearm against another person.”
According to paperwork filed with the indictment, Brown, if convicted, can either be sentenced to life in prison or face the death penalty. He could also receive a fine of up to $250,000 and a five-year supervised release.
