A mural commemorating the murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska has recently appeared on the exterior wall of an apartment building in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn, New York. The mural, funded in part by American billionaire Elon Musk, depicts Zarutska who was tragically killed at the age of 23 in August 2025 while riding a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. The perpetrator, a homeless man with a criminal record, stabbed her to death, sparking nationwide attention at the time.
This three-story high mural is located at the intersection of Jefferson St and Evergreen Ave, with a Taiwanese dumpling restaurant at the corner of the building. The artwork is part of a cross-city memorial project initiated by Eoghan McCabe, CEO of the tech company Intercom, who is known for his conservative views. Similar murals have been installed in Washington D.C., Miami, and Los Angeles as part of the project, aiming to honor Zarutska and open up discussions on urban security and crime policies in the United States.
McCabe personally donated $500,000 to the project, with $1 million from Musk and a total of $200,000 from other small donations. McCabe stated that the project aims to prevent the case from being forgotten and emphasizes that the murder highlights systemic issues in America’s crime policies.
According to reports from the New York Post, following the completion of the mural, some people expressed support and condolences on social media, praising it as a tribute to the deceased. However, some residents of Bushwick later raised questions on local forums and platforms, suggesting that the artistic action carries political undertones and could be used to push specific narratives on security or immigration policies.
In response to the criticism, McCabe mentioned that such critiques represent a minority of opinions, asserting that the memorial project has received broad support across political spectrums. He reiterated that the suspect had a history of multiple arrests before the crime occurred, indicating that the failure of local authorities to effectively isolate high-risk criminals is a significant factor contributing to deteriorating security.
Police records show that the 34-year-old suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of multiple criminal offenses, was arrested shortly after the incident. The case is still pending in the judicial process.
As of the deadline, there has been no public response from Musk regarding the mural.