My beautiful niece Iryna was butchered on a train in the video that's outraged America… now we're living in fear
The aunt of a Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death by a career criminal has spoken out for the first time in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.
Iryna Zarutska, 23, was attacked on August 22 as she sat unsuspectingly on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly by career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr.
Video of the assault sparked nationwide shock, with Donald Trump calling the killing 'horrible' and hinting the city could be the next target for the National Guard.
There has been widespread alarm the story was initially ignored by the national liberal media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail near her home in Huntersville, Iryna's aunt Valeria Haskell said the family are 'exhausted' after the national storm.
She revealed Iryna's mother has been so horrified she is too scared to leave their house, in the latest blow to the family on top of Russia's continued assault on Ukraine.
Her comments come as exclusive Daily Mail photos showed Iryna's heartbreaking grave site, covered in an array of colorful mushroom stickers and a picture of her.
In an obituary written by her family, she is described as a talented artist and animal lover, who it says will be remembered for 'her kindness and creativity'.
Haskell told the Daily Mail on Tuesday: 'I feel like people can't imagine what we are going through.'
She appeared haunted as she was seen walking the family's two dogs, closely followed by their two cats, in the quiet neighborhood.
The 56-year-old, who is Iryna's aunt through her marriage to husband Frank Scott Haskell, said the family have 'been living for three years in incredible pain' with the ongoing bloody war in their native Ukraine.
She said they need 'time' and 'space' and that they do not want to make a 'show' of their grief, adding: 'I have no words'.
https://archive.is/DQbfz
