The Aug. 22, 2025 death of Iryna Zarutska aboard a light rail train rocked Charlotte and reverberated around the globe.
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The 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee died after she was brutally stabbed. DeCarlos Brown Jr. has been charged with her murder.
On Friday, almost a year to the day of her death, her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, saying Zarutska’s death was preventable. The lawsuit was filed against the city of Charlotte, which declined to comment, and Professional Security Services, which provided security for the train.
“Their failures caused the fatal stabbing,” the lawsuit states.
Good morning, and welcome to the North Carolina Observer. I’m Jessica Banov, an editor at The News & Observer. We’re catching up on some of the big stories from across the state from The N&O and The Charlotte Observer.
The Observer has been following the turmoil surrounding Zarutska’s death from the beginning. The recent litigation represents the next chapter in seeking accountability for the crime. Brown, who faces federal and state charges, is not currently able to stand trial.
This week, there also were stories about:
Let’s dive in.
Henrietta Mason knew law enforcement wasn’t telling the truth about her son Tyron Mason after he died in a wreck in Raleigh in 2024. She knew details weren’t adding up. She was right.
A state investigation, supported by body-camera footage, revealed that Trooper Garrett Macario had not disclosed that he had initiated a chase with Mason and that he didn’t give him aid at the scene of the wreck. His supervisor was also investigated after he advised Macario not to tell Raleigh police about his involvement. Neither officer was charged, but they were fired from their jobs.
This week, The N&O’s Virginia Bridges broke the story that Henrietta Mason had settled a federal wrongful death lawsuit with Macario and would receive $200,000 from the state.
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If you’ve been to a museum, a state or national park site or some other historic venue, chances are you’ve read the descriptions of the place you’re visiting. They explain the what and the who and why it’s important to preserve and visit. As The Observer’s Caitlin McGlade reports, those educational signs and materials may soon go away.
That’s a result of President Donald Trump’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which calls for their removal. McGlade looks into what that means in the Carolinas and how a “Save our Signs” group has mobilized to prevent their removal.
“My mother’s pay doesn’t represent her sacrifices. It doesn’t account for the long hours she spent designing lesson plans for her kids. It doesn’t represent the money towards school supplies that sometimes even comes out of our own pockets.”
That’s Jeremiah Tucker, the student body president at Raleigh’s Broughton High School. He was invited to talk about teacher pay at a news conference with N.C. Gov. Josh Stein. He said this year’s teacher raises are a “very good first step into paying teachers what they’re worth” but still aren’t adequate enough for veteran teachers like his mom.
N.C. State’s KaTron Evans fist-bumps Braylon Collins, 6, during Meet the Pack event at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh last Sunday. Ethan Hyman captured the sweet moment.
That’s all for this week.
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