US President Donald Trump has demanded a quick trial and death penalty for  34-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr, the man who brutally stabbed to death 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in North Carolina last month.

Expressing his anger and calling the attacker an Amimal, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a 'Quick' (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP."

 Iryna Zarutska killed in knife attack

23-year-old Ukrainian national Iryna Zarutska was killed in a knife attack while she was travelling on a Charlotte light rail train last month, according to the New York Post.

Zarutska, who had been working at a local pizzeria, was still dressed in her uniform when she stepped onto the Lynx Blue Line at 9:46 pm on August 22.

Footage released by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) shows her quietly scrolling through her phone, unaware of the threat lurking behind her.

Only minutes later, investigators say, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., a homeless ex-convict, pulled out a folding knife and stabbed her three times, striking her in the neck at least once.

Brown left the train at the next station, where police later recovered a folding knife. He was treated for a hand injury before being booked on a charge of first-degree murder.