A new butterfly species has been named after Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed while riding the Charlotte light rail, with the scientist behind the dedication saying this “timeless” honor will ensure she is “never forgotten.”
“This will outlast most other tributes because it’s a living organism. Her name will be immortalized as a butterfly,” Harry Pavulaan, the president and director of the International Lepidoptera Survey who named the insect after Zarutska, told ABC News on Friday.
Zarutska was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22 just before 10 p.m. while riding the Blue Lynx Line in Charlotte, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.
The butterfly, called Iryna’s Azure, primarily flies in April in South Carolina, and features light blue wings on its dorsal — or top — side, but can also have “a distinct violet-blue tint,” according to the Pavulaan’s report, which was published in September.
The insect was first spotted in South Carolina back in 1985 by another researcher, Ronald Gatrelle, but it had not been officially named, Pavulaan noted. So in 2018, Pavulaan traveled to South Carolina, collected a series of butterflies and examined the specimens, he told ABC News.
After several years of research, Pavulaan and his reviewer determined the insect to be the “first known hybrid introgression” for the Azure butterflies, he said.
Pavulaan already had determined a name for the winged-creature, but when he saw the videos spreading online of Zarutska’s death, he said he decided to expedite the paper and name it after her.
“When I saw the story break … I’m 70 years old and I’m still driven to tears,” Pavulaan told ABC News.
The release of Zarutska’s killing on video caused national outrage, with President Donald Trump in September demanding the suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Bown, be “awarded THE DEATH PENALTY” in a social media post.
On Wednesday,ย Brown was indictedย on the federal charge of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death — a charge that makes him eligible for the death penalty.
On Aug. 22, Zarutska had just finished work at a local pizzeria and “texted her boyfriend that she would be home soon,” according to a statement from her family’s attorney.
Zarutska boarded the train and sat in an aisle seat in front of the suspect, who is seen wearing an orange sweatshirt, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.
The train travels for “approximately four and a half minutes before the suspect pulls a knife out of his pocket, unfolds the knife, pauses, then stands up, and strikes at the victim three times,” the affidavit said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene and a witness directed officials to the location of the suspect, according to the affidavit.
Zarutska fled Ukraine and arrived in the United States in 2022, where she was living with her uncle, aunt, mother and siblings before moving in with her boyfriend in May, her uncle told “Good Morning America” in September. He previously described as a “comforter” and a “confidant.”
Officials said Zarutska had lived in a bomb shelter before arriving in the U.S.
Zarutska had a “strong desire for a better life” and was planning on going to school to become a veterinary assistant, according to her uncle. She was also taking English classes at a community college, he noted.
Despite the Ukrainian Embassy reaching out to Zarutska’s family, her uncle said she was buried in the United States.
“She was the glue of the family,” her uncle said.
In September, the North Carolina legislature passed a bill named after Zarutska that would issue reforms to the state’s criminal justice system.
House Bill 307, known as Iryna’s Law, seeks to modify the law relating to pretrial release conditions — specifically for those “charged with a violent offense.” The bill proposes removing cashless bail, studying the “intersection between mental health and the judicial system,” and adding an “aggravated sentencing factor” to those who commit offenses while a victim was using a public transportation system, according to the bill.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced on Oct. 3 that he signed the bill into law.
Pavulaan, who was in touch with Zarutska’s family after naming the butterfly in her honor, said the family was “enthused” and that the gesture “contributed to closure on their part.”
In addition to sending copies of the research paper to the family, Pavulaan noted that he also sent a picture frame displaying the original butterflies he had found while researching.
Pavulaan said Zarutska’s mother sent him a letter in response to the dedication, calling his tribute “noble” and “heartfelt.”
Zarutska’s family didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment
