Unraveling Iryna Zarutska’s Final Hours: Pizzeria Note and Train Delay Deepen Mystery

A stunning new detail has surfaced in the heartbreaking case of Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee brutally stabbed to death on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line on August 22, 2025. A coworker at Bella Napoli Pizzeria, where Zarutska worked her final shift, revealed to investigators that she left a handwritten note on the counter at 6:58 p.m.: “Shift done, back in 10.” The note, scrawled on a napkin and tucked beside the register, was meant to signal a quick break, likely to grab a coffee or run an errand before returning to close. But Zarutska never returned. Investigators now say this note is pivotal, as it confirms her planned route to and from the pizzeria—yet train records show an unexplained seven-minute delay in her journey, placing her on the fatal Carriage 7 later than expected. This discrepancy, alongside previously uncovered evidence like a cryptic note about “11:47 pm,” a necklace, a bus token, nine desperate calls to her father, and chilling surveillance footage, paints a haunting picture of a young woman caught in a web of unseen danger.

Zarutska’s story is one of dreams deferred and safety betrayed. Fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she arrived in Charlotte with aspirations of becoming a veterinary assistant, working long hours at Bella Napoli to fund her studies at Central Piedmont Community College. Known for her warm smile and habit of sketching wildflowers on order slips, she was a beloved figure among coworkers and customers. “Iryna was like sunshine—always lifting us up,” said coworker Sofia Ramirez, who discovered the note during a police interview on October 9. But on August 22, that light was extinguished when Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., a 34-year-old with a 14-year history of violent crimes and untreated schizophrenia, attacked her without provocation on the Lynx Blue Line at 9:50 p.m. Brown, released on a promissory note despite probation violations, slashed her throat and stabbed her chest as she sat, headphones on, scrolling her phone. Surveillance footage captured her final moments—three watch glances signaling growing unease and a shadowy figure in a window reflection—before she collapsed in a pool of blood, abandoned by delayed bystanders.

The pizzeria note, now in CMPD custody, anchors a critical piece of the timeline. Dated and timestamped by a register receipt it was clipped to, it indicates Zarutska intended to leave at 6:58 p.m. and return by 7:08 p.m. Bella Napoli, located a 10-minute walk from Scaleybark station, aligns with her usual commute: a short bus ride or walk to catch the 7:15 p.m. train to her apartment near UNC Charlotte. Phone records confirm she called her father, Viktor, at 6:33 p.m., sounding anxious about feeling “watched,” and again at 8:42 p.m., with faint footsteps and a mumbled “hey” in the background. Yet transit logs show she didn’t board the train until 9:42 p.m.—a seven-minute delay from her expected 9:35 p.m. departure, based on CATS schedules. This gap, investigators say, is “troubling.” “Did she linger somewhere? Was she detained, followed, or lost?” asked Detective Maria Ruiz in a Friday press briefing. “That seven minutes could hold the key to why she was on that train with Brown.”

The delay has sparked intense scrutiny. CMPD is combing CCTV from nearby businesses, including a 7-Eleven and a Dunkin’ Donuts near Scaleybark, for clues about Zarutska’s movements between 6:58 p.m. and 9:42 p.m. Early theories suggest she may have stopped to eat or met someone, but her phone’s GPS, last active at 9:20 p.m. near the station, offers no clear path. The note’s brevity—“Shift done, back in 10”—implies routine, yet its discovery resonates with the cryptic note found weeks later in Carriage 7: “Tell them the truth about 11:47 pm.” Handwriting analysis confirms both were likely written by Zarutska, though the pizzeria note’s ink is fresher, suggesting it was penned in haste as she stepped out. The 11:47 p.m. reference, post-dating her death by nearly two hours, remains a perplexing anomaly, with speculation it was planted or misdated.

On X, the revelation has electrified discourse, with #IrynaNote and #SevenMinutes trending, amassing 600,000 impressions by Saturday evening. A thread by @CLTWatchdog, posted October 11, dissected the timeline, earning 1,892 likes: “Iryna left a note at 6:58 p.m. expecting to be back by 7:08. She’s on the train at 9:42. WHERE was she for those hours? WHO delayed her?” Users like @NCTruthSeeker tied the delay to the shadowy figure in the 9:46 p.m. surveillance clip, theorizing, “Brown was stalking her from the pizzeria. That’s why she was late.” Others, like @BlueLineJustice, with 987 likes, accused CATS of “hiding schedule failures,” citing a Reddit thread claiming the 9:35 p.m. train was rerouted due to a mechanical fault. Less credible voices, such as @GhostlyCLT, spun tales of a “time slip” linked to the 11:47 p.m. note, while @PatriotVoice22 baselessly alleged a “deep-state cover-up” to protect Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who freed Brown pre-attack.

The coworker’s disclosure has galvanized Zarutska’s family. Viktor Zarutskyi, speaking to BBC World Service from Bucha, Ukraine, on October 11, said the note reflects Iryna’s diligence: “She always wrote notes—her way of keeping order in chaos.” Her mother, Olena, added, “That napkin was her last promise to come back. Someone stole that promise.” The family, barred from traveling due to Ukraine’s martial law, has hired a U.S.-based attorney to push for federal oversight of the case, citing the delay as evidence of broader systemic failures. “Seven minutes shouldn’t cost a life,” their statement read.

Public outrage targets multiple fronts: Brown’s lenient release, CATS’s slashed security budget (down 40% since 2023), and the media’s uneven coverage. Posts like @CarolinaMourns, with 1,456 likes, lament, “Iryna’s note got more attention from her coworkers than her murder got from MSNBC.” Federal prosecutors, led by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, have charged Brown under a mass-transit homicide statute, with a possible death penalty. FBI Director Kash Patel, on October 10, promised to “trace every second” of the delay, while Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles fast-tracked a $2 million CATS security overhaul, including AI cameras and armed patrols. Advocacy groups, like the Ukrainian-American Community Center, plan a October 17 vigil at Bella Napoli, holding napkins inscribed with “Back in 10—Forever Missed.”

The seven-minute delay, like Zarutska’s watch glances and frantic calls, underscores her vulnerability in a city that failed her. Was she waylaid by a stalker, a train glitch, or a mundane errand gone awry? The pizzeria note, a fleeting marker of normalcy, now joins the necklace, token, and cryptic message as relics of a life cut short. As CMPD digs deeper, cross-referencing transit logs and witness accounts, the delay looms as a silent accusation—a gap where intervention might have saved her. For Viktor, replaying her final call’s footsteps and murmurs, the note is a dagger: “She wrote to come back, but the world didn’t let her.” Iryna Zarutska’s last promise lingers, urging us to uncover the truth before another life slips through the cracks.