Gwendolyn Sobkowiak | staff writer

The September news has been a whirlwind of dark, painful and distinctly hard to process stories. It was easy to miss another very public killing in the onslaught. But Iryna Zarutska’s death does matter, and how we report on it does too.

Zarutska was a 23-year-old white Ukrainian refugee living in Charlotte, N.C. Her family reported that she was artistic, quick to learn English and hoped to one day become a veterinary assistant. On Aug. 22, she was tragically murdered on the light rail train after her shift at a local pizza parlor. She was stabbed in the throat by Decarlos Brown Jr., a Black man who had been occupying the seat behind her.

I’m not writing this to be reiterative. If you want to read statistics about incarceration, recidivism and violent crime I can happily direct you to every major news site. I don’t think I’m adding anything to the conversation by sharing something that has already been so well covered.

What I want to talk about is the CCTV footage and how reporting on one of the most publicly filmed murders of this year, let alone decade, is still failing to honestly represent an important story to the American public. I understand out of respect for Zarutska’s family there was hesitancy to release footage, but after the initial clip upload of Brown committing the crime, further context became more imperative.

The murder took place inside of a light rail train car. These trains are covered in security cameras. While they may not be able to view every inch of the overall space, their goal is, of course, to monitor all passengers onboard. We have every opportunity to see the crime in its entirety. It’s a disturbing thing to say the least. But with publication of the initial clips, it seemed only right that more should be published to give the full story.

News outlets from all over the political spectrum generally showed a set of three clips pulled from the footage. The first was of Zarutska entering the bus. In the second angle, the camera cuts and she sits down in front of Brown. In the third Brown raises his knife to strike.

However, there’s a lot that seems to be lost in the editing, making it easier to misconstrue and manipulate. The issue is being presented primarily in two contrasting ways. On the left, CNN emphasized the humanity of both individuals, primarily quoting WSOC-TV’s interviews with Brown’s sister and mother regarding his schizophrenia and worsening mental health following a period of incarceration.

They emphasized Brown’s need for better mental health support and expressed disappointment in the lack of rehabilitative help he had received. This point of view puts the blame on the American healthcare system and failures of the prison system to rehabilitate offenders suffering from mental health crises.

Both CNN and Fox News reported on Brown’s 14 previous encounters with the law, ranging from petty theft, armed robbery and notably a misuse of 911 charge which had exemplified Brown’s level of paranoia.

On the right, stations such as Fox News emphasized an eye for an eye perspective. A violent, career criminal, commits a heartless killing, the only correct response is to take his life in return. This anger is easily supported by the cut news footage.

The New York Times reported extensively on the Trump administration’s use of this anger as yet another reason to deploy the national guard throughout the country. Trump called explicitly for the death penalty for Brown on X.

Arguments about the death penalty aside, the anger on the right gave fodder to white supremacists looking for an angle. The triad of clips could be made to look as though a Black man had violently targeted a meek young white woman in full view of the public and was trying to get away with it on an insanity plea.

Regarding Zarutska’s portrayal in the media, she was represented as an angelic, if not sexualized, martyr figure. An AI generated image circulated of her looking seductively at the camera with an exposed shoulder from an oversized button down. It diminished from her from person-hood to another damsel in distress for men to fantasize over.

It quickly became less about general public safety and was easily warped into a racial issue.

If you choose not to believe Brown’s family’s testimony, the full footage still remains to support their statements. What person in their right mind attempting to commit a murder would do so in an enclosed, public, brightly lit space? Furthermore, who would walk down the middle of the train aisle holding the murder weapon, dripping blood onto the floor and proceed to talk to the wall?

It was easy to miss this, however, with the limited clips used by most news sources. This issue was further complicated by an alleged comment Brown made specifically regarding race. According to WCNC, the comments alleged Brown could be heard repeating “I got that white girl,” following the stabbing. They did not confirm the quote.

From my own review of the extended footage available, I was unable to make out anything Brown is saying.

Regardless, much of the controversy could have been simplified from a complete release of the footage, making it available to be viewed for the public, allowing them to draw their own conclusions. This choice would have made it easier to dismiss claims that Brown had selected his target based on race as the footage showed other white women aboard the train. As well, it would have emphasized the mental health crisis that Brown was clearly experiencing.

I encourage people to review the footage for themselves before jumping to any conclusions.

It is disappointing to watch arguments deflect off one another and ultimately fail to lead us to any comprehensive changes in the wake of this tragedy, especially when one could be easily rebutted by footage that exists.

Gwendolyn Sobkowiak can be reached at sobkowiakg@duq.edu