In the US, a mural depicting murdered Ukrainian woman Iryna Zarutska was removed. Reasons

In the American city of Providence (Rhode Island), a mural depicting murdered Ukrainian woman Iryna Zarutska was removed.

This was reported by WJAR-TV and Fox News.

The unfinished mural was painted on a canvas that was hung on the wall of a local LGBT bar, Dark Lady. Co-owner François Karam said he felt a personal connection to Iryna’s story, as he himself is an immigrant.

“[Iryna] was once an immigrant who had the ʼAmerican dream’. She worked to build a new life for herself, but lost it along the way. This mural is our way of honoring her memory on a building owned by an immigrant family who understands what that journey is all about,” he said.

However, there has been controversy among locals for weeks about whether the mural could be politically motivated — after all, it was funded by billionaire Elon Musk, who reported in September 2025 that he was allocating a million dollars for murals dedicated to Zarutska.

The author of the work Ian Gaudreau told reporters that he would like viewers to be able to separate art from funding.

"The most important thing here is the art. I think a lot of people donʼt even take the time to look at art and think about what it can mean," he noted.

However, a month ago, when discussions over the mural in Providence were just beginning to heat up, artist Ian Gaudreau agreed on a new place where he could honor Irinaʼs memory — the Lebanese restaurant Opa The Phoenician.

What is known about the murder of Iryna Zarutskaya

On August 22, 2025, Iryna Zarutska — a refugee from Ukraine — was brutally murdered at a light rail station in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The suspect, 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown, was arrested shortly after police arrived on the scene. He faces the death penalty. Police said Brown, who is homeless, has a long criminal history, having been arrested multiple times since 2011.

A video of the murder appeared online, showing the girl getting into a subway car and sitting in front of the suspect. The man then pulled out a knife and stabbed the Ukrainian woman several times.

The suspectʼs sister, Tracy Brown, shared a recording of the conversation with the Daily Mail, which took place six days after her brother was arrested. He claimed that "the government implanted alien materials in his brain" that controlled his actions. He admitted that he killed Iryna Zarutska because she "read his mind".

In April of this year, an expert declared DeCarlos Brown mentally incompetent to stand trial.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.