The killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte received almost no coverage in major liberal U.S. outlets—including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and CNN. The absence of reporting on an incident that sparked outrage on social media and raised questions about the justice system has been widely attributed to an unwillingness to acknowledge that a white woman was killed by a Black repeat offender.
The brutal murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train has become the focus of heated debate in the United States. Surveillance footage showing repeat offender Decarlos Brown Jr. attacking her spread quickly across social media, provoking shock and anger. Yet the story received little attention in leading liberal outlets, fueling fresh accusations of political and racial bias.
The footage shows Brown, wearing a red hoodie, approaching Zarutska from behind, then striking her before calmly attempting to remove clothing stained with blood. Fellow passengers nearby did not intervene. Screenshots from the video intensified the outrage: users on X claimed the murder was being deliberately ignored for racial reasons. Elon Musk reposted statistics on media coverage with a terse comment: "Zero"—the number of articles in major liberal outlets.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said some outlets declined to publish the footage "out of respect for the family," even though it was the city’s police who first released it publicly. According to her, the tragedy forces a reconsideration of what safety means for residents, and the authorities will do everything possible to restore a sense of security in the city.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles.
At the same time, a debate emerged over whether it was appropriate to turn the tragedy into a political issue. The View host Whoopi Goldberg stressed: "A young woman has died. This is not about politics, it’s about how we care for our sick fellow citizens." Yet some liberal commentators went further, attempting to frame the crime in light of the perpetrator’s condition. On CNN, Van Jones remarked: "We don’t know why he did it. This man was suffering. And the problem is that we don’t know how to help people who suffer the way he did. And wounded people wound others."
Whoopi Goldberg.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side chose not to intervene. Neither President Volodymyr Zelensky nor Ukraine’s embassy in Washington commented on the killing. The silence of official representatives raised questions among the Ukrainian diaspora and human rights advocates, who had expected at least a statement calling for an investigation and accountability.
The Murder of Iryna Zarutska
African American Killed Ukrainian Refugee in Charlotte
Major U.S. Media—AP, CNN, The New York Times and Others—Did Not Report It
Police Released Full Footage of Iryna Zarutska’s Killing in the U.S., With the Killer Facing Life Imprisonment or the Death Penalty
Ukraine’s Embassy and Major Ukrainian Media Have Not Mentioned the Incident Even Once
Who Is Decarlos Brown Jr. and Why Was He Free After 14 Arrests
Ukraine Denied Irina Zarutska’s Father Permission to Travel to the US for Her Funeral
Her Relatives Publicly Criticize the Court’s Decision to Release the Repeat Offender and Point to the Inaction of Train Passengers During the Attack
The Life and Story of Iryna Zarutska
She Sought Protection in the US but Found Herself Most Defenseless There—While for Liberal Politicians and Media the Story Proved Inconvenient and Quickly Vanished From the Agenda in Both the US and Ukraine
Particular attention has focused on Brown’s past, which exposed systemic failures in the American justice system. His mother had previously pleaded with the authorities to isolate her son. In January of this year, he was detained for a false 911 call—claiming that "artificial materials" were controlling his actions. He was released without bail. His record includes a five-year prison sentence for a 2014 robbery, an assault on his sister in 2021, as well as arrests for home invasions and property damage. His first arrests date back to 2007, yet many charges were later dropped, allowing him to return to the streets.
The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office noted that it cannot comment on cases still pending, but emphasized its general position that those accused of violent crimes should remain in custody until trial. The Zarutska case, however, demonstrated the opposite.
The political dimension deepened after statements from local officials. Council member Edwin Peacock said that following the killing, residents no longer felt safe using public transport. According to him, it is essential not only to provide answers to the victim’s family but also to restore confidence that taking the train will not mean risking one’s life.
Against this backdrop, the absence of coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and CNN provoked particular outrage. Critics argued that Zarutska’s case was "inconvenient" for the liberal political and media narrative and was therefore ignored.