1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 1: Crime Alert hourly update, Breaking crime news Now. I'm Drew Nelson. 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: North Carolina's governor reacts with outrage after video shows a 3 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: twenty three year old Ukrainian refugee being stabbed to death 4 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: on a Charlotte light rail train. Arena Zarutzka was killed 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,799 Speaker 1: in an unprovoked attack on August twenty second. She just 6 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: boarded the Lynx Blue line about ten pm, still wearing 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: her uniform from work. She was sitting alone looking at 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: her phone, and a man in a red hoodie sat 9 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: behind her. After four minutes, he stood up, pulled a 10 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 1: folded knife from his pocket, and stabbed her three times 11 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: in the throat. She collapsed and died on the train 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,560 Speaker 1: as passengers tried to help. Governor Josh Stein says, quote 13 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: I am appalled by the footage of her murder. We 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: need more cops on the beat to keep people safe. 15 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: He urged lawmakers to pass his plan to fill law 16 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 1: enforcement vacancies and quote stop these horrific crimes. Police arrested 17 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: thirty four year old to Carlos Brown Junior days later. 18 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: He's charged with first degree murder. Brown has a long 19 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: criminal history armed robbery, breaking, up, entering, filliny, larceny. He 20 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: was released earlier this year after claiming someone had implanted 21 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: a device in his body. A court ordered a mental 22 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: health evaluation that was never completed. Officials say Zarutzka and 23 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,320 Speaker 1: Brown never even spoke to each other. Zarutzka fled Kiev 24 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two with her mother, sister, and brother. 25 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: She worked at Zipiti's pizzeria, studied to be a veterinary assistant, 26 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: and walked her neighbor's dogs. Her obituary described her as 27 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,040 Speaker 1: a gifted artist who was quote happiest when surrounded by family. 28 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: Her death has become a flashpoint, with President Trump calling 29 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: Brown a lunatic and blaming Democrats for letting violent criminals 30 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: walk free. Charlotte's Mayer called it a quote tragic failure 31 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 1: by the courts. A US attorney said federal charges are 32 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: under review. Quote we are looking at every way the 33 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: federal government can bring justice to Arena Zerutzka and her 34 00:01:50,360 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: loved ones. More crime man justice news After this, a Charlotte, 35 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: North Carolina police officer who took his own life while 36 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: on duty is now confirmed to be the first known 37 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: law enforcement officer diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. 38 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: That's according to The New York Times. Brent Simpson died 39 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: by suicide in July of last year, at the age 40 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: of forty seven. He left for work that morning, kissed 41 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: his wife, Gina Elliott, and said he loved her. Two 42 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: hours later, his boss and other officers showed up at 43 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: her door. They told her Simpson had shot himself at 44 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: a cemetery. In the final years of his life, Simpson 45 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: often told Elliot quote, something is wrong with my brain. 46 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: She kept notes. As he began to lose his memory 47 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: and drift from the life that he had built for himself, 48 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,959 Speaker 1: he stopped his beloved hobby of woodworking. He no longer 49 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: trained for his jiu jitsu black belt. He started crying 50 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: without warning. He felt a constant pressure behind his right eye. 51 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: He told her he could not feel joy. Simpson joined 52 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department in two thousand and six. 53 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: By twenty eleven, he was training recruits and hand to 54 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: hand combat at the academy. He wore padded gear during 55 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: the physical combat training, but often returned home bruised and dazed. 56 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: He later achieved his dream of becoming a canine officer. Still, 57 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: by twenty twenty, Elliot noticed a sharp change. He talked 58 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: about retiring early. He seemed distant. One day, when asked 59 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: to speak at a funeral, he told her quote, I 60 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: don't know whether what I'm remembering is real or imagined. 61 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty three, he entered a mental health rehab 62 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: program for first responders and was diagnosed with PTSD. Nothing helped. 63 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: He slept no more than three hours a night. He 64 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:42,279 Speaker 1: grew paranoid and kept prepper supplies in the house. After workshifts, 65 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: he would sometimes sit and stare blankly at the wall. 66 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: In early twenty twenty four, he tried ketamine therapy and antidepressants. 67 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: Doctors ran MRIs blood tests and other neurological exams, but 68 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: got no clear answer. Elliot says she felt him slipping 69 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: further away. After his death, Simpson's brain was donated to 70 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: Boston University's CTE Center. Doctor n McKee, who studied his brain, 71 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: found lesions in the frontal and temporal lobes, signs of 72 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: early stage ct She told The Times quote, people in 73 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: these early stages of CTE can have fairly profound behavioral 74 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: changes and sometimes personality changes. She noted that Simpson's years 75 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: of police training, Navy service, and even high school football 76 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: all raised his risk. Psychotherapist Stephanie Samuels, who works with 77 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: law enforcement, told The Times many of her patients show 78 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: similar symptoms rage, memory lapses, paranoia. She believes CTE has 79 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: long been overlooked in police suicide cases. Gina Elliott now 80 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: knows what her husband could not. Quote, my sweet baby 81 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: had to die thinking he was going insane. More than 82 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: a year has passed, but she still hasn't washed his clothes. 83 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,559 Speaker 1: Sometimes she drives his truck and reaches across the seat, 84 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: pretending he's there to hold her hand. Quote. I lost 85 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: him twice. He was gone years before he was physically gone. 86 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: The Department has not commented publicly on the CTE diagnosis. 87 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: If you watched Breaking Bad, you know Tuco Salamanca as 88 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: one of the most unhinged bad guys ever written. The 89 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: actor who played him, Raymond Cruz, doesn't have nearly that 90 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: big of an attitude, But on Monday, he was arrested 91 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: after a dispute outside his home ended with a woman 92 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: getting sprayed with a hose. Cruise Age sixty was taken 93 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: into custody in Los Angeles. He was arrested on suspicion 94 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: of misdemeanor battery. He was booked and released later that 95 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,479 Speaker 1: day on his own recognisance. No charges have been filed. 96 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: Cruse's agent Rafael Burko says the actor was washing his 97 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: car when three women parked a white minivan very close 98 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: to his bumper. Cruise asked them to move. Burko says 99 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: they refused and began filming him. He says Cruise asked 100 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: them to stop while still spraying the car. Some water 101 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,479 Speaker 1: hit their vehicle, and he goes on to say, quote, 102 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:57,600 Speaker 1: believe it or not, one of them called the police. 103 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: Raymond is happy this is done with. Has no criminal 104 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: history whatsoever. He has no idea who these women are 105 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: or why they were harassing him in front of his 106 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: own home while he was trying to wash a car. 107 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,160 Speaker 1: Our partners at TMZ first reported the arrest. The case 108 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: will be reviewed by the La City Attorney, who may 109 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: choose to hold an informal hearing or refer Cruise to 110 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: anger management. Outside of Breaking Bad, Raymond Cruz is best 111 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: known for playing Detective Julio Sanchez on The Closer and 112 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: Major Crimes, a role that he held for over a decade. 113 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: He also appeared in films like Training Day, Alien Resurrection, 114 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,279 Speaker 1: and The Substitute, often portraying military or law enforcement. For 115 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: the latest crime and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly 116 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: update on your favorite podcast app with this crime Alert. 117 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: I'm Drew Nelson.