The deranged homeless man accused of savagely butchering Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, on a Charlotte light rail train has been found “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges.
According to a motion filed April 7, Decarlos Brown Jr. was evaluated Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital, and the subsequent report determined he was not competent to stand trial, according to WBTV. His attorney has asked the court to delay his competency hearing by 180 days.
The results were previously sealed in state court and were only revealed as the motion was filed.
Prosecutors did not object to the requested 180-day delay of Brown’s Rule 24 hearing, which was previously scheduled for April 30, which will determine whether he is fit to proceed with a potential death penalty trial.
Brown is also facing federal charges — and will remain in custody on that case, his lawyer Daniel Roberts said.
A judge must now determine whether to accept the report’s findings, and the case against him will likely be delayed until his capacity is determined to be “restored” by the court, the station reported.
In the motion filed by Brown’s public defender, he claimed the court-required capacity hearing cannot take place with the accused killer in federal custody, and that the court also can’t order to have his capacity restored.
Under , North Carolina Law a defendant is deemed capable to proceed to trial if they can understand the nature and object of the proceedings, comprehend his or her situation in reference to the proceedings, and assist in his or her defense in a rational or reasonable manner.
Brown has been in federal custody in Chicago since a grand jury indicted him on Oct. 22 for violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system causing death. He faces state charges of first-degree murder.