The tragic story of Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train on August 22, 2025, has taken a spine-chilling turn with the revelation of 11 unread voicemails on her phone, the last one a haunting 12-second clip of hurried footsteps followed by dead silence. Iryna, who fled war-torn Kyiv in 2022 for a new life in North Carolina, was discovered dismembered in suspect Decarlos Brown Jr.’s Tesla trunk, her phone recovered from the crime scene. The messages, unlocked by family with police consent on September 18, 2025, were from friends, her pizzeria boss, and one from an unknown number—the final one that’s left investigators and her loved ones frozen in dread. “It’s like she was running for her life,” her uncle told CNN, as X erupts (#ZarutskaVoicemail) with theories of a desperate plea cut short.
The voicemails paint a portrait of Iryna’s vibrant last days: a bubbly chat with coworker “Missed you at work—pizza party tomorrow!” and a loving note from her sister, “Love you, sis—call when you land.” But the 11th, timestamped 9:42 p.m. on August 22—just four minutes before the attack—starts with frantic breaths, then rapid footsteps echoing on concrete, ending in abrupt silence. No scream, no plea—just void. LAPD’s digital forensics team, per Charlotte Observer, confirmed no tampering, but the origin remains unknown. “It’s as if someone grabbed her phone mid-run,” a detective said, tying it to the train footage where Iryna scrolled peacefully before Brown lunged.
Her family, including trapped father Oleh in Ukraine, is shattered, the voicemail a “ghost’s whisper” in their grief. “Please bring her back,” Oleh begged via video, as a GoFundMe surges to $200,000 for justice. Brown, 34, with a history of mental illness, faces death penalty charges, but the message raises questions: Was it a warning call? A struggle captured? X users speculate: “Footsteps to her doom—heartbreaking!” vs. “Hoax or hidden clue?” As the trial looms, this 12-second silence isn’t just evidence—it’s Iryna’s final cry, echoing a refugee’s dream silenced too soon.
