A common feature of legacy media coverage leading up to the 2024 presidential campaign was their collective reluctance and/or outright refusal to cover heinous crimes that reflected poorly on key Democrat policies. With the 2026 midterms over a year out, it appears that the media are reverting to form.
The nation is horrified by the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zartuska, who was randomly stabbed to death while riding the light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a homeless man with an extensive criminal and mental health record. Per The New York Post:
A 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who recently fled her war-torn home for a safer life in the US was knifed to death by a homeless career criminal at a North Carolina train station last week, according to family members and authorities.
Iryna Zarutska suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the East/West Boulevard light rail station in South End, Charlotte just before 10 p.m. Friday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Saturday.
Zarutska had “recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to fundraise for the young woman’s aunt and other family members during the “heartbreaking time.”
The first news outlet to report this horrific story? NewsNation:
Once again, @NewsNation schools the legacy media- this time by reporting the brutal murder of a Ukrainian refugee aboard a Charlotte, NC light rail, at the hands of a deranged homeless man with an extensive criminal record. It's not that hard, guys. pic.twitter.com/mzD5kJ82HK
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 7, 2025
KELEIGH BEESON: Well, just into our news room- in North Carolina, a 23 year-old Ukrainian refugee was stabbed and killed while on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the surveillance video. You can see the man in the red hoodie on the right side of your screen as he raises a folding knife allegedly stabbing Iryna Zarutska 3 times, including in the neck. She had boarded the train just minutes prior. The young woman had reportedly fled Ukraine due to the war, hoping for a safer life in- in the States. The attack happening late last month around 10:00pm and at this point, police believe this deadly attack was completely random. The suspect has been identified as 34 year-old DeCarlos Brown, Jr. He has multiple arrests dating back to 2011, including assault and robbery with a dangerous weapon. Police say after the slaying, he walked through the rail car stripping his sweatshirt and waiting by the doors when other passengers began to notice blood dripping from him. He is now facing first-degree murder charges. Just chilling.
The first mention of this crime on any kind of video media, per our research, was during a panel discussion on the August 28th episode of Just the News, Not Noise on Real America’s Voice. But this NewsNation item was the first standalone report of this horrendous story on a national newscast. ABC, CBS, and NBC had multiple weeks’ worth of nightly newscasts on which to air this story, but didn’t (neither did CNN or MSNBC). Instead, the legacy nightlies chose to air such compelling stories as: the Japanese field goal kicker at the University of Hawaii, the opening of Princess Di’s time capsule, multi-day cycles on the Swift-Kelce engagement, the growing Powerball jackpot, Haboobmania, and the legal travails of Cardi B, among many others. But they will eventually get to this brutal crime, albeit kicking and screaming and omitting whatever key details they think they can get away with.
The murders of Rachel Morin, Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, and the woman that burned to death on the New York City subway, to name a few, went grossly underreported by the legacies because they made the Democrat regime look terrible. Each of those murders were a direct result of the Biden administration’s border policies that allowed millions of unvetted illegal immigrants to stream into the country. Inevitably, immigration became a central issue to the 2024 presidential election.
Such is the case now with crime in America’s cities, as President Trump cracks down on crime in the nation’s capital and elsewhere. A young woman fled war in Ukraine only to find death in an American city. The legacy media choose, once again, to look away.