Scientists are naming a species of butterfly after Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian immigrant who was tragically stabbed to death on a light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August.
Footage circulated on social media showed DeCarlos Brown Jr. stabbing her multiple times before she died. It was later revealed that he had an extensive criminal record.
From ABC News:
A new butterfly species has been named after Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed while riding the Charlotte light rail, with the scientist behind the dedication saying this "timeless" honor will ensure she is "never forgotten."
"This will outlast most other tributes because it's a living organism. Her name will be immortalized as a butterfly," Harry Pavulaan, the president and director of the International Lepidoptera Survey who named the insect after Zarutska, told ABC News on Friday.
Zarutska was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22 just before 10 p.m. while riding the Blue Lynx Line in Charlotte, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.
The butterfly, called Iryna's Azure, primarily flies in April in South Carolina, and features light blue wings on its dorsal -- or top -- side, but can also have "a distinct violet-blue tint," according to the Pavulaan's report, which was published in September.
The insect was first spotted in South Carolina back in 1985 by another researcher, Ronald Gatrelle, but it had not been officially named, Pavulaan noted. So in 2018, Pavulaan traveled to South Carolina, collected a series of butterflies and examined the specimens, he told ABC News.
Pavulaan told ABC News that he had already thought of a name for the butterfly, but after seeing the footage of Zarutska’s death, he decided to use her name.
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A federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted Brown on Wednesday. He is facing charges for violence against a railroad carrier and the mass transportation system, resulting in death. He is eligible for the death penalty.
Heartbreaking yet beautiful: Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on Charlotte’s light rail, now lives forever as Iryna’s Azure a stunning new butterfly species with violet-blue wings. 🦋
— Independent Perspective (@IndePerspective) October 24, 2025
Scientist Harry Pavulaan: “Her name will be immortalized as a… pic.twitter.com/vwL3yFd480
Brown had a long list of arrests and releases over recent years. This includes at least 14 cases dating back more than a decade. He served almost six years for armed robbery and was released in 2020. He was arrested in January for misuse of 911 after repeatedly calling about “a man-made material” in his body. Still, he was released without bond.
The defendant also had prior convictions for felony larceny and breaking and entering, along with assault and issuing threats.
It was later revealed that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been refusing to take his medication. His family members tried to secure involuntary treatment at a mental hospital. But he only had short inpatient stays before being released multiple times.
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