CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed aboard a Charlotte light rail train on August 22, has not only shaken the community but also reopened discussion about a disturbing family history of violence tied to her accused killer.
Authorities have confirmed that Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, charged in Zarutska’s death, is the half-brother of Stacey Dejon Brown, who was convicted more than a decade ago in another shocking Charlotte homicide.
A Family Connection to Tragedy
Court records show that in 2012, Stacey Brown, then 22, pled guilty to the murder of 65-year-old Robert Heym, who was gunned down while walking home from work. The shooting occurred during a botched robbery in October of that year, carried out by Brown and accomplice Rodderick Derrick Crawford.
Prosecutors revealed that Heym was shot in the face with a sawed-off shotgun after resisting the men’s demands. Investigators later learned that Brown’s girlfriend at the time played a critical role in the investigation, telling detectives that Brown admitted to the killing and stashed the murder weapon in her backpack before attempting to hide it.
Police responding to reports of gunfire found Heym mortally wounded, and his cell phone was later recovered near the Scaleybark light rail station — a grim parallel to Zarutska’s 2025 stabbing aboard another train on the same system.
Stacey Brown’s Conviction
In Mecklenburg County court, Stacey Brown entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and breaking or entering a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to 27 to 36 years in prison.
His violent record, however, was not limited to Heym’s death.
- July 2012: Brown was involved in a string of car break-ins at a Charlotte parking garage.
- October 2012 (one day before Heym’s murder): Brown, Crawford, and Joshwah Townsend carried out an armed robbery on West Boulevard. During the crime, Brown allegedly fired a shotgun into the back of a fleeing victim, who survived but was left with serious injuries.
Both accomplices eventually accepted plea deals. Crawford pled guilty to two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and awaited sentencing, while Townsend pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to 17 to 33 months in prison.
A Cycle of Violence
The Browns’ involvement in violent crime is not an isolated chapter. According to relatives and court records, multiple family members across generations have faced arrests for weapons possession, break-ins, and other felony charges. Some within the family have pointed to untreated mental illness, including schizophrenia, as a factor in the ongoing pattern of destructive behavior.
Community advocates say these repeated tragedies underscore a cycle of violence that devastates not only victims but also entire neighborhoods.
“This isn’t just about one case — it’s about a cycle that keeps stealing lives, peace, and futures,” one Charlotte community member said. “We have to break it. That means caring, prevention, healing, and change before another life is erased.”
Two Innocent Lives Lost
The murders of Robert Heym in 2012 and Iryna Zarutska in 2025 are separated by more than a decade but linked by a painful thread — innocent lives stolen in senseless acts of violence, both connected to the Brown family.
Heym, remembered as a hardworking man dedicated to his family, was killed on his way home from his job. Zarutska, who fled war in Ukraine to seek safety and opportunity in the United States, lost her life in a place where she should have been safe — a public train.
The echoes of both tragedies continue to resonate in Charlotte, reminding the community not only of the devastating human toll of violence but also of the urgent need to confront its root causes.
May Iryna Zarutska, Robert Heym, and all victims of senseless violence rest in peace.
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