Rae Carruth

Biography

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Carruth attended Valley High School and accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Colorado in Boulder. He played four seasons for the Buffaloes and was named a first-team All-America in 1996. His quarterbacks at CU were future pros Koy Detmer and Kordell Stewart. Carruth was a first-round draft pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, taken by the Carolina Panthers with the 27th overall selection. He signed a four-year, $3.7 million deal that included a $1.3 million signing bonus.

During Carruth's sophomore year at CU, his Sacramento girlfriend, Michelle Wright, gave birth to their son Raelondo. Carruth all but neglected Raelondo until Wright sued him for child support. Wright later testified that Carruth agreed to pay $2,700 in child support—half of what he was ordered to pay by a judge—on condition that he be a better father, something he failed to do.

Carruth had a respectable rookie season in 1997 and started 14 games. Wearing uniform number 89, he caught 44 passes for 545 yards and four touchdown passes, tied for first among rookie receivers. He was named to the all-rookie team at wide receiver.

He broke his right foot in the opening game of 1998, and did not catch another pass that season due to the injury. He ended the year with four catches for 59 yards (all on opening day). He played in the first six games of the 1999 season, with 14 catches for 200 yards.

Criminal history

On November 16, 1999, near Carruth's home in Charlotte, North Carolina, Cherica Adams, a real estate agent he had been casually dating, was shot four times by Van Brett Watkins Sr., a night club manager and an associate of Carruth. Adams managed to call 911, and said that Carruth had stopped his vehicle in front of hers, and that another vehicle drove alongside and its passenger had shot her. Carruth then drove away from the scene.

Adams was eight months pregnant with Carruth's child at the time. Soon after her admission to the hospital, she fell into a coma. Doctors delivered the baby via emergency caesarean section. Carruth went to the police and posted a $3 million bail, on condition that if either Adams or the infant died, he would turn himself in. Adams died on December 14, 1999. The baby, named Chancellor Lee Adams, survived, but suffered permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy due to being without oxygen for 70 minutes before he was born.

Carruth fled after Adams' death, was captured on December 15 in West Tennessee, found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel in Parkers Crossroads. Also in the trunk was $3,900 cash, bottles of his urine, extra clothes, candy bars, and a cell phone. The Panthers waived him on December 16, citing a morals clause in his contract.

At trial, prosecutors contended that Carruth hired Watkins and others to murder Adams because of her refusal to abort their unborn child. Carruth's lawyer Adam Toraya claimed that Carruth had been caught up in a drug deal gone bad. They claimed that on the night of the shooting, after Carruth had refused to fund the drug deal, Watkins shot Adams in a sudden rage when she "flipped him off" after he had attempted to ask her about Carruth's whereabouts.

Carruth was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child. He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. He was found not guilty of first-degree murder, and so was spared the death penalty. He is serving the sentence at Tyrrell Prison Work Farm near Columbia, North Carolina, with a projected release date of October 22, 2018.

The driver of the vehicle used in the murder, Michael Kennedy, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 11 years and eight months. Kennedy was released in 2011. Watkins pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the shooting, and was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years and three months.