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'If Daniel Penny had been there...': Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska’s murder on NC train sparks debate
Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was murdered in August in North Carolina, and Decarlos Brown Jr., a homeless man, was arrested for the crime.
Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was murdered in North Carolina in August, but her case has received widespread attention recently, after a brutal clip of the attack surfaced online. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have arrested a homeless man, Decarlos Brown Jr., for the murder.
Amid the outrage over the unprovoked attack on the 23-year-old, many are flocking to her GoFundMe page to extend support. Zarutska was stabbed multiple times, with authorities saying at least one blow had struck her throat.
Some on X are also claiming that if Daniel Penny were present, this fate may not have befallen the woman who left behind her war-torn country for safety in the US.
Who is Daniel Penny and why his name came up
Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran, put homeless man Jordan Neely in a chokehold, killing the 30-year-old. The incident took place on the uptown F train in Manhattan on May 1, 2023, and was caught on camera.
Penny had put Neely in a chokehold after he was reportedly menacing other people on the train. Neely had expressed frustration with his living conditions, saying, "I don't care if I go to jail" and "I'm ready to die,” which intimidated some people. However, they said Neely hadn't initiated any physical contact.
On December 9, 2024, Penny was acquitted by a Manhattan jury on charges of criminally negligent homicide. Less than two months later, he landed a job at powerhouse Silicon Valley venture capital firm – Andreesen Horowitz.
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Penny's name has come up because he took action against a homeless person who was menacing other passengers on a train. Further, it turned out that Neely had previous arrests on charges ranging from evading fares and theft to assaults on three women. He also reportedly suffered mental health issues for over 15 years, which began after his mother was strangled to death and stuffed into a suitcase by her boyfriend. The parallels with Brown arise because the latter is also homeless and has a criminal past. Brown also seems to suffer from other issues, because he claimed to cops doing a welfare check that a person gave him a ‘man-made' material, which controlled when he did things like eat or talk.
What are people saying about Daniel Penny
One person on X said “If Daniel Penny had been on that train in Charlotte, Iryna Zarutska would still be alive, Decarlos Brown would be dead, Daniel Penny would be on trial and the media would’ve made it national news!”
The collage showed the moment before the attack on Zarutska on the left, and Penny holding Neely in a chokehold, on the right.
Another commented “With the prosecution of Daniel Penny, all you get are Iryna Zarutska.” Yet another person remarked, “If only a hero like Daniel Penny had been on that subway, the animal would have been choked, and Iryna Zarutska would still be alive!”
Notably, at the time of Penny's acquittal, Neely's family attorney Donte Mills had said “Everyone matters. Even if you're homeless, have mental health issues, have an addiction - you matter. This verdict says otherwise. Daniel Penny got away with murder”, as per BBC.
