The mother and sister of Decarlos Brown, the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian woman on Charlotte light rail, say that he struggled with mental illness for years after being released from prison and that he claimed there was a "material" in his body that controlled him.

Decarlos Brown Jr could be facing the death penalty for the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, and while his family have condemned his “atrocious” crimes, they have also claimed that the state of North Carolina holds some blame.