208: The Murder of Cherica Adams

In November of 1999, 24-year-old Cherica Adams was eight months pregnant when she and the father of her child, 25-year-old Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth, went on a double date. They saw a late-night showing of a serial killer flick at the theater. As Rae led Cherica back home to her apartment in his white Ford Expedition, with Cherica following behind in her black BMW, he unexpectedly slowed to a near stop. Confused, Cherica slowed down too. Then, an unknown car pulled up beside her and gunfire rang out. Before the smoke had cleared, Rae was gone—and Cherica had been shot multiple times.

Hosted and produced by Erica Kelley
Researched and written by Andrea Marshbank and Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio
Edited & Mixed by Brandon Schexnayder & Erica Kelley
Suggested by: Greg Husketh, Patee, Hannah, and Terina

Sources: https://southernfriedtruecrime.com/cherica-adams

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Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Southern Fried true crime covers cases thatare not suitable for young listeners, and
there may also be some explicit languageused. Listener discretion is advased. At
twelve thirty am on November sixteenth,nineteen ninety nine, it was the dead
of night in Charlotte, North Carolina. The skies were clear of clouds,

(00:26):
the wind was barely blowing, andthe temperature was at chilly forty three degrees.
When twenty four year old Shreika Adamsleft for a date night with her
boyfriend earlier that evening, she wasn'tin fear of her life. If anything,
she was afraid of losing her boyfriend. She was eight months pregnant with
a child he had not wanted,but she didn't feel unsafe, just happy

(00:49):
he wanted to spend time with her. Growing up around Charlotte, Sharika was
part of a melting pot of diversecultures, often compared to its beautiful seasons.
In nineteen ninety nine, Charlotte wasstill in the first glow of a
new NFL team, The Carolina Panthers, made their debut in nineteen ninety five,
thrilling North Carolinians statewide. But Charlottehad a fairly high homicide rate in

(01:14):
the nineties. In general, statistically, it is still in the bottom ten
percent of cities reporting violent crime,making it one of the more dangerous cities
in the nation. Polling suggests manylocals would disagree. Charlotteans are proud of
their city and its distinct character,and a great number insists it is safe,

(01:34):
while acknowledging there are some rougher partsof town. But no one can
deny the homicide issue in the nineties, even if you didn't live in one
of the more dangerous areas. Lawenforcement maintain that it was related to the
crack epidemic, and Shirka's case hearkensback to that mindset when her murderer's defense

(01:55):
would be a drug deal gone wrong. Not that Shirka was doing drugs,
know that she was in the wrongplace at the wrong time. But we
are all familiar with another depressing statisticthat the number one cause of death for
pregnant women is murder. Welcome toepisode two oh eight, The Murder of

(02:19):
Sharika Adams. Serika Lavina Adams wasborn on June thirtieth, nineteen seventy five,
to her mother, Sondra Adams andher father, Jeff Mooney, near
Charlotte, North Carolina. Serika's mother, Sondra, would later see in interviews
that she named Sharika in part becauseof the singer's share, and she chose

(02:42):
Serika's middle name, Lavina because thatwas Sondra's mother's middle name. Sondra gave
birth to Sharika when she was seventeenyears old. At the time, she
was a senior in high school.Sondra and Shrika's father, Jeff, didn't
stay together as her families grew.Sherika had two sisters, a brother,
and a stepbrother, and Sherika wasmostly raised by Sondra and her parents in

(03:07):
King's Mountain, North Carolina. King'sMountain is about thirty two miles west of
Charlotte, but still within the metropolitanarea of Charlotte. Sherika was a young
woman known for her confidence and kindness. She had a magnetic presence and made
those around her feel good about themselves. Shika was also very beautiful. Her

(03:29):
friend Valerie Brooks said that her lookscould rival icons like Halle Berry and Beyonce.
Shirika was an absolute knockout, shesaid, but she wasn't aware of
how pretty she was, Valerie pointedout, emphasizing that Shirka's beauty was actually
more internal. Between her charismatic personality, generous nature, and stunning good looks,

(03:51):
people flocked to her. She hadso many friends who spoke highly of
her. In nineteen ninety three,Sherika graduated from West Charlotte High School.
The next fall, she attended NorthCarolina's Winston Salem State University, but by
nineteen ninety five, Shika had stoppedpursuing her degree. Instead, she entered

(04:12):
the workforce. While she did tryout several different jobs, she primarily worked
in real estate, and she wasreally good at it. In nineteen ninety
seven, twenty two year old Cherikawon a million dollar Circle award. The
specific award she received was dubbed Silverand meant she had sold high value homes
worth at least two million dollars.Then she also took on a second job.

(04:36):
In the late nineteen nineties, shebecame a dancer at a strip club,
although she was doing well otherwise.According to Sherika's mother, Sondra,
the money Shika earned from dancing wasreally helpful for her financial stability, which
was important to the young woman.In June of nineteen ninety eight, twenty

(04:56):
three year old Cherika went to apool party. There she met us man
named Ray Caruth. Ray was twentyfour years old and an NFL player.
He was a wide receiver for theCarolina Panthers, and Sriika met him right
when his star was on the rise. The year before. In April of
nineteen ninety seven, Ray had beena first round draft pick for the Carolina

(05:18):
Panthers. He had signed a fouryear contract for three point seven million dollars,
and his first season had started offstrong. He caught forty four passes
for five hundred and forty five yards, as well as four touchdown passes.
As a result, Ray was namedwide receiver for the NFL All Rookie Team.

(05:39):
Whether you know much about football ornot, you can see Ray Caruth's
undeniable talent. When he and Serikabegan talking, I'm sure she was completely
dazzled. How could she not be? She was seeing an actual Panther.
I was about her age when theTitans came to Nashville, and it was
huge. For years. The teamstill foll so new and brought so much

(06:00):
pride to our city. I wasa bartender at a nightclub and players would
sneak into the VIP room. Theywere an even bigger deal than the rock
stars and rappers who graced our doors. I met lots of musicians, but
players were off limits unless they askedto meet you. I imagine it was

(06:21):
a heady experience to meet a celebritylike that and for him to be interested
in her, especially the toast ofthe town, a new panther for the
home team that still had that newshine to them. Srika would have been
wild from the beginning, and RayCaruth's meteoric rise was attractive to her.

(06:42):
How could it not be. Shewas a catch herself, also talented,
beautiful, and with a bright future. But they still were not an exclusive
couple. Ray made sure to keepa cash They were two attractive, charismatic
young people having fun but also workinghard towards their own goals. But it

(07:02):
became more complicated seventeen months later whenRay would become the father of Serika's child.
I'm going to pause now for ashort commercial break. Ray Lamar Theotis
Wiggins was born on January twentieth,nineteen seventy four, to his mother,

(07:24):
Theodre and his father Charles Wiggins.He had one sibling. Ray's father,
Charles, didn't have much of arole in his son's life. Instead,
Ray was mostly raised by his motherand his stepfather, Samuel Caruth. That's
why Ray started going by Ray Caruth. It was his stepfather's surname. In

(07:45):
nineteen eighty eight, when Ray wasabout fourteen years old, his mother and
stepfather divorced, but Ray kept usingthe name Caruth. Sometimes his middle name
is listed as Theotis, other timesit's listed as Lamar. It's unclear what
formal name is change paperwork Ray didor did not fill out, but court
documents would later list him as RayLamar Wiggins, also known as Ray Caruth.

(08:09):
Ray was originally from Sacramento, California. He lived in an area known
as Oak Park in Ventura County,and he attended Valley High School. He
played football and was quickly noticed forhis talent on the field. He was
also a popular kid. The CharlotteObserver reported that Ray was named his high
school prom king not once, buttwice. Ray wasn't your stereotypical big football

(08:35):
player. He stood five feet eleveninches tall and weighed one hundred and ninety
four pounds that he was fast,incredibly fast. He could run forty yards
in four point three seconds. Accordingto The Sacramento b Ray knew he needed
an athletic scholarship to achieve his goals. He told his friends and family that

(08:56):
he wanted to be famous. Hewanted a bee career in football, but
his grades were a problem. Hismother, high school teachers, and guidance
counselors helped him to develop an academicplan. It was the only way he'd
be able to get a full rideto college, so with the help of
that support system, Ray took extrasummer and night classes. By nineteen ninety

(09:20):
two, he graduated from Balley Highwith a three point two GPA, and
he was offered a football scholarship fromthe University of Colorado, Boulder. As
an eighteen year old kid heading offto college, Ray was known for being
a reserved young man. People describedhim as quiet, slow to trust,
with very few friends. When Rayvisited the University of Colorado for recruiting purposes,

(09:43):
he treated it like a business trip. He wrote down notes. He
brought a briefcase. While other potentialfootball recruits were partying it up in Boulder,
Ray didn't join in He preferred toplay video games in his free time.
But even though Ray was a seriousperson and not really a joiner,
he was well liked at u C. Boulder. Ray played four seasons as

(10:07):
a Buffalo. He became an Allconference wide receiver. He majored in English,
went to class, and, asmost of us do in college,
dated around. Ray was quite thecharmer with the ladies, and according to
those who knew him, he preferredto date women casually. He wasn't interested
in monogamy or long term relationships,as his defense attorney David Rudolph later said,

(10:33):
his focus was pretty much on sports, football and women back in the
day. In the winner of nineteenninety three to ninety four, Ray went
home to Sacramento for a visit.That's when he reconnected with an old high
school flame. Her name was MichelleWright, and about nine months later,
in August of ninety four, Michelegave birth to Ray's first child, a

(10:54):
son named Junior. Ray, likehis own dad, was not a good
father. When Ray Junior was born, Ray himself was a sophomore at CU
Boulder. He wasn't present for hisson's birth. Instead, he chose to
go to the university's football camp.Then, after Michelle was granted full custody
of their son, Ray refused tomake his child support payments. By the

(11:20):
time Ray was on the Carolina Panthersfootball team, Michelle was forced to take
him to court for child support.She was also forced to submit to a
paternity test. Ray simply was notgoing to pay her child support otherwise.
According to Sports Illustrated, the courtissued a temporary order for Ray to pay
five thousand, five hundred and fiftydollars a month for Ray Junior's care.

(11:43):
This was based on Ray's massive NFLsalary. Of course, he was making
about thirty seven grand each game,with sixteen games a year and six hundred
thousand dollars in Ray's pocket. Fivegrand a month is peanuts, at least
it should be when it comes tosupporting your child. But according to Michelle's
testimony, she and Ray discussed thischild support payment privately, and she agreed

(12:07):
to let Ray pay only two thousand, seven hundred a month on the condition
that he would spend more time withhis son, but he didn't do it.
Over the next two decades, Rayrarely saw his son, only coming
into his life off and on.Michelle said that when she confronted Ray about
his lack of follow through on theirchild support agreement, he made a joke.

(12:30):
He said that Michelle shouldn't be surprisedif she quote gotten a fatal car
accident. Yeah, real funny.At the same time that Ray was kicking
his feet of her child' support paymentsfor Michelle and Ray Junior, he was
seeing another woman. Her name wasAmber Turner, and while Ray couldn't fathom
paying the mother of his son forchildcare expenses, he would lavish Amber with

(12:54):
gifts. He gave her five hundreddollars a month, He bought her Alexis
clothes, the whole nine yards.But when Amber became pregnant in March of
nineteen ninety eight, Ray quickly changedhis tune. He wanted her to get
an abortion. According to Amber's courttestimony, Ray threatened her he said,
don't make me send somebody out hereto kill you. You know I'd do

(13:16):
it. In the end, Amberdid have the abortion. In nineteen ninety
seven, Ray graduated from CU Boulder. He had played four seasons for the
Buffaloes and was named a first teamAll American in nineteen ninety six. As
he headed for his first job inhis dream career. This time he took

(13:37):
a skateboard instead of a briefcase.He was much more laid back now,
maybe too laid back, as we'llsee. He was a first round draft
by the Carolina Panthers in nineteen ninetyseven, and he was making absolute bank.
He signed a four year, threepoint seven million dollar deal that included
a one point three million dollar signingbonus. Over the next few years,

(14:01):
he would purchase a white Ford Expedition, a red Mercedes, and a nice
house in Charlotte, though not amansion. He paid two hundred and thirty
seven thousand then, which would beabout four hundred thousand now, depressingly averaged
in this housing market. But Ray'sfinancial situation wasn't all peaches and cream.
In his second season, he brokehis right foot in the very first game.

(14:26):
Consequently, he missed out on mostof the nineteen ninety eight season.
Sports Illustrated reported that Ray felt shunnedby his Carolina teammates following his injury,
but rather than spending time bonding withthem, he would play video games at
home. So you got a wonderwho was doing the shunning. The next
season. In nineteen ninety nine,Ray was benched in September. He had

(14:50):
dropped an important pass in a gameagainst the Jaguars. During this season,
Then Panthers coach George Seaffert tried tomove to a new position. He wanted
Ray to be a punt returner,not a wide receiver. According to the
Charlotte Observer, Ray was not happyabout this. He made intentional errors so

(15:11):
that Seaffert would change his position backThe next month, in October, Ray
suffered a left ankle sprain, andjust like that, Ray's nineteen ninety nine
football season had been cut short again. All this is to say race football
career, which had started off well, was going nowhere fast. But back

(15:33):
to Ray and Shika. They hadfirst met at that pool party in the
summer of ninety eight, before Raystarted having problems on the field. According
to Sandra Adams, Sharika took Rayto meet her father, Jeff Mooney,
just a few hours after that poolparty. Jeff, who Sharika had reconnected
with in her teenage years, livednearby. From that point on, Ray

(15:56):
and Shirika would meet up a fewtimes during the summer. Despite the impromptu
visit with Sherika's father. Ray andShirika weren't technically boyfriend and girlfriend. They
both dated other people. Serika evenmoved out of state briefly before returning to
Charlotte. After the summer of nineteenninety eight, they had stopped seeing each
other and it looked like it wasover for good, except by pure chance.

(16:22):
In November of nineteen ninety eight,Ray and Serika crossed paths once more.
He was at a birthday party fora fellow Panthers player, and the
party was being held at the Stripclub where Shuika danced. Serika and Ray
left the party together, and theircasual relationship began once more. By April

(16:44):
of nineteen ninety nine, Shika waspregnant. After they verified her pregnancy by
a doctor, Ray asked her toget an abortion. She said no.
Serika said she had already had anabortion before and wasn't going to do it
again. According to her friends,she would have been open to settling down
and starting a family with Ray,but he was clearly not interested in that.

(17:07):
Still, Suika was unfazed. Shedecided to have the baby and raise
the child by herself. After all, she had lots of family in the
area, her support network was strong, she was confident that she could be
a single mom. At this time, Serika had started working as a financial
manager at a bank, and shehad always dreamt of being a mother.

(17:33):
Her friends knew that she already hadthe baby names picked out. If it
was a little girl, she'd nameher Chase. If it was a boy,
she would name him Chancellor. I'mgoing to pause now to hear a
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(20:07):
four year old Sharika was about eightmonths pregnant. While she and Ray weren't
considering marriage, they did do babyrelated activities together. They had gone to
a lama's class, Ray had helpedby baby furniture. The two soon to
be parents seemed to be friendly,if not a serious couple. On the
evening of Monday, November fifteenth,Ray invited Sharika to go to the movies

(20:30):
with him. It was a doubledate. Ray's friend and fellow Panthers player,
Hannibal Navis and his girlfriend were alsogoing, so that night, Sharika
drove to Ray's house. Before themovie began, she left her car at
his place. Then they drove tothe theater together. They watched the nine

(20:51):
forty five showing of The Bone Collectorat the Regal Cinemas in South Charlotte.
Afterwards, Ray and Sharika hopped inhis suv to head back to his house.
Serika was under the impression that thiswas the end of the night.
She was just getting her car togo home. But when they got back
to the house, Ray insisted thatthey go back to her place. He

(21:12):
wanted to drive his car there,with Shika in her own car following behind
him. At twelve fifteen am,Sharika called her cousin and roommate Maudre Floyd
and asked him to straighten up theirapartment. She wasn't expecting company, much
less Ray that night, and shedidn't want her place to be messy.

(21:33):
Serika told Maudri they'd be there inabout fifteen minutes. Then she watched Ray
make a phone call. At twelvenineteen am. Ray told someone something along
the lines of we're getting ready toleave the house. Reports very but that's
the gist. But Sharika had noreason to think this was strange, so

(21:55):
she got in her black BMWSUV andRay got in his white Ford Expedition.
As they headed to Shiika's place,Ray drove in front of her to lead
the way, so when he unexpectedlyslowed to a near stop, Sharika had
two as well. Ray and Shikawere on a two lane residential street.

(22:15):
There were no stop signs or trafficlights in the area, so she didn't
understand why Ray was driving this way. Between Ray's big SUV and her own
suv, Sharika didn't have the spaceto go around him to see what was
up. Moments later, a NissanMaxima pulled up beside Sherika's driver's side window.

(22:36):
The unknown car was very close toher, only about a foot away.
Someone in the back seat rolled theirwindow all the way down and opened
fire into Shika's driver's side window.Five gunshots rang out, four hit Shika,
one in the neck and three inher torso. Right after the shooting

(22:57):
was over, the Nissan Maxima droveaway from the scene, and so did
twenty five year old Ray Caruth.Later, the driver of that Maxima would
tell authorities that he noticed something oddas he left Shiika to die, and
that was Serika's break lights they wereon. The driver wondered if Sherika wasn't

(23:18):
dead, because if she was,wouldn't her body have gone slack, making
it impossible to press on the brakes, But the driver was too preoccupied to
give it much thought as he vanishedinto the night. At twelve thirty one
am, Sika, who was notdead, pulled her vehicle into the nearest
front yard. She leaned on herhorn, and she called nine one one

(23:41):
with her cell phone. After RayCaruth heard five gunshots aimed at the mother
of his child's car and drove away. He did not call the police,
He did not notify a hospital.As far as we know, he did
not tell a single soul that Sharikaneeded help, and he didn't go to
Shirika's apartment, which was his originaldestination when he left his house with her

(24:06):
behind him. Instead, her courtdocuments, Ray went to his football teammate,
Hannibal Navy's home and they played videogames. Remember Hannibal was the guy
they went on a double date withthat night. Meanwhile, Sika Adams was
bleeding out. Somehow she had maneuveredher car into someone's front yard and driveway.

(24:30):
That was where she called nine oneone. Sureka stayed on the phone
with the nine one one operator anddispatcher for twelve minutes, and the information
she provided during those twelve minutes wasabsolutely vital to the ensuing investigation and to
saving her unborn child's life. Hereare some small snips of that call.

(24:52):
The full transcript is in today's sourcelist on my website, Southern Fried Truecrime
dot com My one. You knownot where are you at now? I
made that just happened. I wasputting me and he put down and I

(25:19):
think he did it. I don'tknow what to think of all right?
What did they okay? What didname name? At twelve forty three,
a m officer, Peter Grant arrivedon the scene. Srika told him the

(25:41):
situation exactly as it happened. Sheexplained how she and Ray had gone to
the movies, how they had returnedto Ray's house to get her car,
and how she had followed him toher apartment. Serika explained that Ray had
slowed down, blocked her car in, and that a vehicle had come up
beside her. Then someone in thatvehicle had shot at her. When Officer

(26:07):
Grant asked her, did your boyfrienddo this to you? Sreka nodded yes.
By one ten am, she wasat the Carolinas Medical Center, where
a trauma team was waiting for her. Right away. She underwent two surgeries,
an emergency cesarean section and another toremove the bullets from her body and

(26:27):
attempt to repair the massive damage theyhad caused. At one two am,
less than ninety minutes after Sharika hadbeen ambushed, Chancellor Lee Adams was brought
into this world. He was tenweeks premature, three pounds and eleven ounces.
Immediately following his birth, doctors describedhis condition as fair, but he

(26:51):
did have brain damage due to oxygendeprivation. Later, as doctors feared Chancellor
would be diagnosed with cerebral palsy.By four am, Sriika was in the
trauma intensive care unit. On Chancellor'sbirth certificate, the box under father was
left blank, and Sondra later saidthat Sharika had planned to name her baby

(27:15):
Chancellor Lee Caruth, but at thehospital she changed her mind and put her
own last name on the birth certificate. Three hours later, an endotracheal tube
had to be put down her throatso she could breathe. Then Serika couldn't
speak. The morning, nurse TracyWillard asked Shika if she could remember what

(27:37):
happened. Sharika nodded and wrote downthe events on a piece of paper.
Later on, her father spoke toher he explicitly asked, in no uncertain
terms, were there any stop signson this road that could have given ray
a good reason to stop? Sharikashook her head no. Not long after
all this, doctors and she hadto rest and gave her medication to help

(28:02):
her go to sleep. Serika fellinto a coma and never woke up.
She had sustained damage to her spleen, pancreas, large and small intestine,
stomach, and liver. She waslosing blood at a rate of six liters
per day. Scott Fowler for theCharlotte Observer reported that the hospital staff had

(28:25):
initially believed that Sika would live,but the chancellor would not make it.
But after losing consciousness that last time, Shriika went downhill fast. For nearly
four weeks, she was on lifesupport. Her body retained so much fluid
that her weight more than doubled.She weighed one hundred and twenty pounds,

(28:48):
eight months pregnant, and about twohundred and eighty after she swelled so severely
with fluid. She did not evenlook like herself anymore, and there was
no hope. She showed no signof recovering. On Tuesday, December fourteenth,
nineteen ninety nine, at twelve fortythree pm, Shika's family made the

(29:11):
unimaginable decision to let her go.Her funeral services were held at eleven am
on Saturday, December eighteenth at theVictory Christian Center. More than one thousand
people attended. They released twenty fourpurple balloons to recognize Shirika's twenty four years
of life. She was buried inthe Sunset Memory Gardens of Mint Hill,

(29:36):
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Serikawas survived by many family members, including
her son, Chancellor Lee, whowas doing well. He had been moved
out of neonatal care earlier that monthand he was in the care of Shika's
mother, Sondra. Hours after Shikawas brought to the hospital for treatment,

(29:57):
Ray arrived. Adams angrily says ininterviews that he showed up with an entourage.
He came with his friend Hannibal Navi'sHannibal's girlfriend, and unbelievably, Ray
actually brought another woman with him.Her name was Candace Smith. According to

(30:17):
Serika's mother's interviews with The Charlotte Observer, Ray sat between Candace's legs as they
waited for news about Sharika, sherubbed his shoulders. Sondra later said that
Ray did not ask her how eitherSharika or the baby were doing, but
he did later ask to take aphoto of the baby, even though he

(30:38):
didn't want to touch his son,which is sadly ironic because, according to
neonatal doctor Dosha Hickey, even thoughRay Caruth insisted on a paternity test,
she and the other nurses believed thetiny baby looked just like him. I'm
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(33:15):
about them. Please support our showand tell them we sent you. Treat
yourself to Honeylove because you deserve it. Homicide Detective Darryl Price and Sergeant Tom
Athey arrived at the hospital at aroundseven am to talk to the Adams family
and to carefully confront Ray Caruth,who was still in the waiting room.

(33:37):
The police had heard Sharika's desperate nineone one call. That's how they knew
to Approachray without letting him know aboutthe nine to one one call or its
contents. They asked him what heknew about the situation. Ray denied knowing
anything. The police wanted to takehim in for questioning, but later that

(33:58):
same day, Ray had hired awill known Charlotte defense attorney, George Laughren.
Lawfren immediately stopped him from participating ina police interview, but before Ray
lawyered up, he had let thepolice search his vehicle and phone. The
SUV did not provide much, ifany, usable evidence. However, Ray's

(34:19):
phone was another story. The investigatorswrote down Ray's recently called phone numbers.
Later, the police with subpoena moreof Ray's phone records, along with Shirikas.
Ray's cell phone records led law enforcementto twenty four year old Michael Eugene
Kennedy. During his court testimony,he admitted that he was a drug dealer
by trade. According to sources fromthe Washington Post, Ray had known Michael

(34:45):
for less than a year. Theyhad met in nineteen ninety nine, sometime
around January or February, they crossedpaths at a car parks shop. As
soon as the police identified Michael's phonenumber from Ray's phone, they contacted him
and with an a week Michael hadtold the authorities everything as it happened.
According to the testimony of Michael andothers, Ray had planned Sherika's murder from

(35:09):
months, just like with Michelle andAmber. He did not want to pay
Shika child support, and since shewould not have an abortion, he decided
to ever killed. On the nightof Shika's murder, at about seven or
eight o'clock, Ray called Michael.He asked him to come over and watch
a football game, but this requestwas a ruse. Ray wasn't interested in

(35:31):
watching football for an hour or sobefore his date with Sharika. He wanted
Michael to get a car that wouldn'tdraw attention, one that they could use
to kill Shirka in a seemingly randomdrive by shooting. Michael soon showed up
at Ray's house driving a rented NissanMaxima, and he brought a friend of
his, nineteen year old Stanley DrewAbraham Junior. Stanley and Michael became best

(35:57):
friends when they were neighbors in Charlottedescribed them to be as close as brothers,
and Stanley, like Michael, wasalso a drug dealer. After Michael
and Stanley arrived at Ray's house,Stanley went inside and waited while Ray and
Michael talked outside. Then a manwho neither Michael or Stanley knew showed up.
It was thirty nine year old VanBrett Watkins from Brooklyn, New York.

(36:22):
According to the North Carolina Department ofCorrections, Watkins also went by the
alias William Edward Watkins, which washis dead brother's name. Later, Watkins
of tel authorities, that's who hewas. He had even given them his
brother's birth date. For weeks,there was misreporting around watkins name and age,

(36:42):
but we've got it correct here.He was born in nineteen sixty,
his name was Van Brett Watkins,and he was thirty nine at the time
Shriika Adams was murdered. Watkins wasa big guy. He was six foot
four inches tall and two hundred andeighty six pounds, and he prided himself
on being both massive and scary.During his later testimony, Watkins would tell

(37:06):
Ray's lawyer David Rudolph, I wouldrip you like a rag doll. I've
seen so many people exaggerate and sayhe threatened Rudolf, but if you watch
it, it's more like bragging.He was a big guy who liked to
intimidate people. While Watkins did spendsome time working in construction, he was
primarily a career criminal. By thetime he was in his late thirties,

(37:29):
he already had five felonies under hisbelt. They included gun possession, assault,
and threatening to kill people. Whenhe was incarcerated in the state of
New York, he once lit aninmate on fire for speaking poorly about one
of his female family members. Hercourt documents, Watkins had also pistol whipped
a man, threatened his own wifewith a meat cleaver, and stabbed his

(37:51):
brother. During interviews with Scott Fowlerand many others, Watkins bragged that he
had killed four men for contract killings. Police were not able to verify this
claim, and Watkins never offered tohelp solve any related cold cases. But
really, he has given a lotof interviews over the years. You can

(38:12):
pull up all kinds of YouTube videosand watch him bragging about bullshit. Ray
met Watkins at a strip club innineteen ninety nine. Watkins was the bouncer
at the door and Ray was acustomer, And when Ray needed a fence
built at his home, a mutualfriend connected him to Watkins. Watkins was
supposed to give Ray a cost estimatefor the construction work, but the fence

(38:34):
was never built. In another oneof his charming interviews, he said that
this building of fence stuff with Raywas actually code for killing Sharika. He
said Ray kept saying he needed tohurry up with the fence because he didn't
want the dog to get out.Watkins said the dog was code for his
unborn son. He wanted Sharika deadbefore she gave birth. But according to

(38:59):
the Washington Posts, Watkins did completeother odd jobs for Ray. Some of
these tasks included washing and detailing raisedto vehicles. By the summer of nineteen
ninety nine, the two men haddeveloped at least a working business relationship.
In an exclusive interview, Watkins toldjournalist Scott Fowler that Ray asked Watkins how

(39:20):
much would it take to beat upa girl and make her aboard her baby,
to which Watkins responded, I don'tbeat up girls, I kill people.
This conversation was also verified by MichaelKennedy's court testimony later on. Eventually,
Ray and Watkins settled on a priceof six thousand dollars for the contract
killing and the orchestration of Serika's murder. Began, I'm going to pause now

(39:49):
for a short commercial break. Onthe evening that Sharika was shot, Watkins
arrived at Ray's house. Michael andStanley were already there. According to court
transcripts, no one had a gun. Watkins later told the Charlotte Observer he
hadn't brought a gun on purpose.He was hesitant to do the hit because

(40:12):
he was averse to murdering women.However, he felt pressure to complete the
job. He claimed he was worriedRay new gang related people who would harm
him or his loved ones if hedidn't. At this time, Watkins had
a girlfriend and at least one child. I think this is more crap,
and that he probably didn't want tobe the one to procure the gun so

(40:32):
it couldn't be traced back to him. But it didn't matter whether or not
Watkins had brought a gun. Michaelbriefly left to purchase one from a friend
for one hundred dollars. Ray gavehim the money. Then Michael returned with
a three fifty seven caliber Charter Armsrevolver and a box of bullets. Watkins

(40:52):
loaded the gun with as many bulletsas it would hold, which was five,
then he disposed of the rest ofthe bullets. While Ray and the
three other men were preparing for Serika'smurder and Ray's home, Serika was there,
at least for part of their planning. She had arrived at Ray's house
for the movie date. At ninefifteen pm. She was on the phone

(41:14):
with her mother, Sondra. Serikatold Sondra that she was worried about why
Ray had all these people at hishouse. She also noticed Ray had been
on the phone a lot. Hewas obviously trying to discuss something in secret.
Serika told her mother she thought Raywas talking to another woman. Right
as she was about to bail inthe movie, Ray said it was time

(41:35):
to go, and Serika went.While they were at the movies with Hannibal
Navies and his girlfriend Watkins, Michaeland Stanley got into the rental car.
Michael was driving. Stanley was inthe front passenger seat, and Watkins,
who was to be the shooter,was in the back seat. He wore
gloves. The three men in thecar communicated with Ray via cell phone throughout

(41:59):
the evening. That's how they knewwhere Ray and Shrika were. During the
movie, the three men drove aroundto kill time. During later court proceedings,
Stanley's lawyers would assert that Stanley hadno idea that they were riding around
to go fulfill a hit on ShrikaAdams. The Washington Post reported that his
attorney said he was in the wrongplace at the wrong time. Stanley's council

(42:23):
would assert that he thought he andMichael were going out in the town that
night, and according to Michael's policeinterviews, there is some truth to this.
Michael claimed that Stanley didn't know whatwas going on until they stopped at
a gas station while waiting for themovie to end. After finding out what
they were really doing, Stanley askedto go home, but Michael wouldn't let

(42:46):
him. He was too afraid ofWatkins to finish this job without his friend
there. As soon as the threemen received word that Ray was leaving to
go to Sherrika's apartment, they gotinto position. When Ray slowed down on
that residential street, Michael pulled thecar up beside Sherika's BMW and van Brett

(43:07):
Watkins fired five shots at Shrika Adams, four of them hit the twenty four
year old pregnant woman. Watkins braggedin multiple televised interviews that he usually would
have killed any witnesses who saw himshoot someone, but he couldn't he had
used all five bullets in the gun, so afterward, Watkins, Michael,

(43:27):
and Stanley parted ways. Watkins fledto New York to lay low for a
while, but nine days later hereturned to North Carolina. He stated at
a motel known as the Villager Lodge, and the police had been staking it
out because they saw a phone numberfrom the lodge listed on Ray's phone records.
When law enforcements saw Watkins, theyrecognized him immediately from Michael's descriptions during

(43:51):
police interviews. They picked him upat about two o'clock in the morning on
November twenty fifth, It was theearly hours of Thanksgiving Day. As soon
as Watkins understood that Michael had alreadytold the police everything, he also folded.
While the police were questioning him,twenty five year old Ray Caruth was
arrested at his home. It wassix thirty am. He opened the door

(44:15):
completely naked, and officers said hehad a woman in there with him.
That same Thanksgiving Day, the CarolinaPanthers dismissed Ray from the team. About
one week later, authorities arrested.Nineteen year old Stanley Abraham, Ray,
Caruth Van Brett, Watkins, MichaelKennedy, and Stanley Abraham were charged with

(44:37):
conspiracy, attempted murder and related charges. According to The New York Times,
Watkins, Michael, and Stanley's bondwas set at one point five million.
Ray's bond was three million, andhe was the only one who could afford
to post bill. Ray's bond wasgranted on two conditions. One he couldn't
leave Charlotte, and two if Sherikaor Chancellor died, he was to turn

(44:59):
himself. But when Serika passed onTuesday, December fourteenth, Ray did not
turn himself in. Instead, hefled the state. For a while,
no one knew his whereabouts. Hismother, Theodrey, gave a nationally televised
interview. She stated that she hadspoken to him recently and that Ray would

(45:20):
turn himself in when he was ready. Police Deputy Chief Larry Snyder said to
AP it's quite obvious the information themother was supplying was incorrect. He didn't
turn himself in, and he wasfound hundreds of miles away from Charlotte.
Upon learning of Shirka's death, Raynow officially on the hook for first degree
murder, contacted his friend, WendyCole. Wendy was a hair salon owner

(45:45):
who had known Ray and his familyfor quite some time. Wendy was traveling
to California and Ray begged her tolet him come too. She agreed to
let Ray hide on the trunk ofher gray Toyota Camray. Ray took thirty
nine hundred dollars in cash, bottlesfor water, bottles for urine, and
some energy bars, and he climbedinto Wendy's trunk. Wendy drove through the

(46:08):
night with Ray in her trunk.They communicated via cell phone. She made
it five hundred and eleven miles westof Charlotte, and then she stopped at
a Best Western and Waldersville, Tennessee, to rest. Wendy checked into the
motel and Ray remained in the trunk. When she got to her room,
she called Ray's mother. Wendy toldthe Odrey their location. Then Theodrey called

(46:31):
Ray's bell bondsman. She told themwhere he was. The bondsmen were worried
that Ray would get away before theyarrived, so, per the arrest affidavit,
they contacted local law enforcement and theygot in touch with the FBI.
At about six forty five pm onWednesday, December fifteenth, FBI agents approached
Wendy in her motel room. Aftersome questioning, the FBI realized that Ray

(46:55):
was hiding in her trunk. Wendywas initially charged with her bring a fugitive,
but it was later dropped. Accordingto the Associated Press, Ray surrendered
to the FBI peacefully. By thispoint, he had been on Wendy's trunk
for twenty one hours. Surrendering anythingbut peacefully would have been hard. The

(47:15):
next day, on Thursday, Decembersixteenth, the Panthers officially severed all ties
with Ray, citing a morality clausein his contract, and the next day
the NFL suspended him indefinitely. CoachGeorge Seaffert told the Washington Post, Obviously
this has to do with what hastaken place in the last forty eight hours.
We are not trying to demonstrate guiltor innocence or anything else. It

(47:38):
is just our reaction to what hastaken place. And also on this same
day, the prosecution announced they wouldtreat Shirika's slang as a capital offense.
They were seeking the death penalty.If you're wondering how the hell Ray Caruth,
of all people could manage to run, you're not alone. Sergeant Athey

(47:58):
said, quote, We've got aone hundred thousand things going on in the
city. We don't have the resourcesto sit and watch one guy because of
who he is. Like I saidin the opening, Charlotte was in the
middle of a drug epidemic and highhomicide rate. It sounds crazy, but
they didn't think famous Ray Caruth wouldrun and didn't have the manpower to sit
on him either. I haven't explicitlysaid it yet, but I'm sure you've

(48:22):
guessed as much. This case drewnational attention. Even if you don't follow
football, it was hard to avoidall the coverage. An NFL player who
orchestrated the death of his baby's motherto avoid child support payments, one who
fled the state when it came timeto face the consequences of his actions.
It was big, big news,and it came at a time when NFL

(48:45):
football players committing crimes were already inthe public's mind. In October of nineteen
ninety five, only four years beforeformer Buffalo Bills running back O. J.
Simpson was acquitted for the murders ofNicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. On
January thirty first of two thousand,less than two months after Shirika's death,
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was involvedin an altercation that ended in the deaths

(49:08):
of two men. Lewis pled guiltyto obstruction of justice. So Lewis was
in the press at the exact sametime as Ray. Oj never recovered financially
After several messy years, He wentto prison for armed robbery and kidnapping in
two thousand and seven. He claimedhe was only trying to take back his
stolen memorabilia. Ray Lewis, however, played in the Super Bowl in January

(49:32):
two thousand and one, literally aweek after Ray Kruth's trial would end.
Lewis earned Super Bowl MVP honors aswell as Defensive Player of the Year.
Just like OJ and Lewis's cases,Ray's case made the front page a lot
newspapers wrote hundreds of articles twenty twentyreleased in episode HBO's Bryant Gumbel series.

(49:53):
Real Sports covered it later. ScottFowler of The Charlotte Observer would help create
a video docum, a print series, and a seven episode podcast on it.
So yeah, people were aware ofRay's case then and probably now,
even people who aren't necessarily sports fans. After some decision making by the powers

(50:14):
that be, the co defendants accusedof planning Sherika's murder were to be tried
separately. They were all offered pleadeals, but before Ray's trial, only
Watkins showed interest in one. Ray, Michael, and Stanley did not want
plea deals. I'm going to pausenow for a final commercial break. Ray's

(50:37):
trial was up first. In preparation, he hired a defense attorney we've mentioned
before on this podcast, David Rudolph. Rudolph would go on to represent Michael
Peterson in two thousand and three.If you're not familiar with the case,
check out my coverage. I dida four episode series on the death of
Kathleen Peterson and Michael Peterson's trial,made famous by the Staircase documentary It's My

(51:00):
Longest Deep Dive. I was especiallyfascinated by the pop cultural response to the
Peterson case it's episodes one seventy threeto one seventy six. But back to
this case. Twenty six year oldRay Caruth's trial began on November twentieth,
two thousand, It was just overa year since Shriika was murdered. The

(51:22):
court proceedings were nationally televised by CourtTV. You can actually watch the whole
thing from start to finish on theirwebsite. The prosecution's case was clear Ray
did not want to pay Shrika childsupport for their unborn son, so he
masterminded her death to avoid that.The state brought twenty witnesses to support their
arguments, including Candace Smith, thegirlfriend Ray had brought to the hospital the

(51:47):
morning after Shirika was ambushed. Shetestified that Ray had previously said he wished
Shriika would die, but after Shirikawas shot, Candace asked Ray if he
had anything to do with it.She said, he wouldn't even look at
me. And he said that hehad been trying to be nice to her
and go to doctor's appointments and giveher money and keep her happy, and

(52:09):
that he had been getting money outof the bank a little bit at a
time, so it wouldn't look suspiciousto give to the guy. Andy said
he watched the guy well. Hehit his brakes in his car to slow
her down. Andy saw the guy'spull up and shot into her car,
and he said, I just droveoff and went to Hannibal's house. That's

(52:30):
a confession. Ray Caruth is notjust an evil man, he is an
idiot. Michael Kennedy also testified forthe state. His testimony was extremely valuable
because he did it without the benefitof a plea deal. There was no
question as to if he was tellingthe truth, what would he have gotten
out of Lyne. Michael provided manyof the details I've already shared with you.

(52:54):
He also explained Ray's motive with pinpointaccuracy. Ray told Michael he was
upset Serika wouldn't have an abortion.Ray thought she was trying to quote juice
him for money, and that hewas already paying like five thousand in child
support and he didn't want to payanother five thousand. Van Brett Watkins also

(53:14):
later said in one of his interviewsthat Ray said he couldn't be having a
baby with no stripper. I don'tthink the bastard cared who was carrying a
child of his. This was histhird shot at being a father, and
each time he railed against it.I guess he was that damn cheap anyway.
There were also phone records backing upMichael's testimony, Ray and Watkins had

(53:37):
called each other six times within twentyfour hours of Sharika's murder, and Ray
called Michael multiple times to verify wherehe and Serika were at. Michael's testimony
and later Watkins' testimony verified that,And of course, the most important pieces
of evidence the prosecution brought to thetable where Serika's nine to one one call

(53:58):
discussions with Officer Grid and the notesshe had written to Nurse Willard. In
all three instances, Serika had explainedexactly what had happened leading up to and
during her attack, and all threetimes Serika gave close to identical accounts,
and her nine one one call itwas like she was speaking from the grave.

(54:21):
Prosecutor Gentry called ill said she wasthe strongest witness for herself to her
own murder, and that was allthe prosecution really needed to nail right of
the wall. Serika had gotten nearlyall of her details right in that call,
including the direction that Ray and Michaelhad driven off after the attack they
had gone opposite ways. In response, rai'sed defense counsel, led by Rudolph,

(54:45):
proposed an alternative theory, one thatwas based on the testimony of Watkins's
jailer. The jailer claimed that Watkinshad said the whole thing was a drug
deal gone wrong, that Ray hadagreed to buy a large amount of marijuana
from Watkins and then had gone backon his word. Watkins was mad,
and so he organized the shooting withMichael Kennedy. That's why Ray wanted to

(55:08):
drive with Shariga back to her apartment, because he was scared of Watkins,
who was supposedly livid about this drugdeal, and he had made multiple phone
calls to Kennedy not to let himknow where he and Shrika were located,
but to see if Watkins had calmeddown. Yet, Watkins has always denied
that he said this, and speakingof him, he was supposed to be

(55:31):
a witness for the state. Itwas actually part of his flea deal,
but he was such a hostile witnessthat the state decided not to use him.
But the defense actually called Watkins tothe stand. David Rudolph questioned him
with permission to treat him as ahostile witness, which seems like a strange
idea because Watkins supported everything Michael hadalready testified to but he also tried to

(55:54):
qualify his own guilt, saying hehired me to kill Serika Adams and the
baby. I couldn't bring myself tokill the baby. I shot at the
top of the car, not throughthe door. First, he doesn't beat
up on women, Now he doesn'tkill babies. JFC. This guy,
Rudolf kept pushing at him because hedidn't carry a gun that night. The

(56:16):
argument was that Caruth had not plannedout this hit, and part of that
proof was that the supposed hitman didn'teven bring a gun that night. He
said, so, you're a hitman without a gun, goading Watkins until
he basically said, look at me. I don't need a gun. I'm
two hundred and eighty six pounds.I would rip you like a rag doll.

(56:37):
This was the short scene where folkssay Watkins threatened Rudolf. Rudolf never
said that himself, but he didsay he was glad that the sheriff deputies
were between them. Shortly after thatexchange, Rudolf ended his questioning. I
think his point was to show howviolent Watkins was, perhaps in contrast with
his client, who did have aclean record up until then, and that

(57:00):
it might also drive home his argumentthat the shooting was because Watkins was angry
at Caruth and Shirika was caught inthe middle. He was obviously easily angered.
On the stand, Rudolph also pointedout that neither Kennedy nor Watkins had
ever been paid. It was aclever defense, the best Rudolph could have

(57:22):
come up with. It explained allthe phone calls and why Caruth ran that
night, And like I told youin the opening, Charlotte was experiencing a
record number of homicides due to thecrack epidemic. A drug deal gone bad
wasn't exactly a stretch for Charlotte,North Carolina. In nineteen ninety nine,
Ray's defense called an additional forty fivewitnesses to the stand, most of whom

(57:45):
were there to attest to raise goodcharacter and gentle nature. In rebuttal,
the prosecution introduced the testimony of Ray'sx's Michelle Wright and Amber Turner. They
both corroborated that Ray became angry attheir pregnancies and how he asked them both
to get abortions. Michelle didn't,but Amber did. It showed a pattern

(58:07):
that Ray Caruth couldn't be bothered touse birth control, but refused to be
a parent. Amber Turner also providedthe court with the four page letter Ray
had written to her from jail.In it, he had outlined fifteen things
he wanted her to say in court. He asked her not to talk to
the cops, to his lawyers,and wrote the words here's what you recall.

(58:30):
Amber said what she was supposed torecall her Ray was blatantly false.
Stanley Abraham did not testify, neitherdid Ray himself. In total, the
trial was six weeks long and thejury struggled to make a decision. They
deliberated for three days before asking thejudge for additional instruction. The judge's instructions

(58:52):
were, in essence, keep going. Then on January twentieth, two thousand
and one, on Ray's twenty seventhbirthday, the jury made a decision.
After twenty hours of deliberation. Thejury convicted Ray Caruth of conspiracy to commit
murder, discharging a firearm into occupiedproperty, and attempting to destroy an unborn

(59:13):
child. He was acquitted a firstdegree murder. Jury foreman Clark Pannell Junior
said to The New York Times thatthey couldn't convict Ray for first degree murder
because all elements of the charge weren'tproven. Basically, Ray hadn't actually pulled
the trigger that killed Shirika. ProsecutorGentry called Ill said the jury didn't follow

(59:34):
the law. How can he beguilty of conspiracy firing into a vehicle and
attempting to kill an unborn child butnot be guilty of the first degree murderer
of that child's mother. Sondra Adamslater said the prosecution was over confident by
not putting second degree murder on thetable. It looks like she might have
been right. Another juror, JerryKarst, said Caruth should have been convicted

(59:59):
of first degree murder, but thatthere was one holdout durer who would not
convict on first degree. Karst saidhe would have voted for the death penalty
if he could have, but becauseof the holdout, the compromise verdict.
So it was guilty on every chargeexcept first degree murder. We don't know
who the holdout was, and maybehe didn't like that the trigger man got

(01:00:21):
a plea deal for second degree thatwasn't offered to Caruth. I am a
proponent of kitchen sink charges. Ithink it's always safer to give a jury
options when prosecutors refuse. I've seenthis work both ways. Michael Peterson was
convicted with this gamble, but thenwon an appeal and took an Alford plea

(01:00:43):
and got out of prison. I'vegot another case I'm about to update this
month, where pretty much the samething happened, and in this instance,
the prosecution lost their gamble. Thatholdout juror may have been more likely to
convict on a lesser murder charge sinceRay didn't actually pulled the trigger, but
we don't know that for sure.All we have is that Jerry Cars telling

(01:01:06):
us that the jury wanted to convictRay Caruth all but for one juror.
I'm still with Ms Adams on thisone, and so for the charges he
was convicted of, Ray Caruth wassentenced to eighteen to twenty four years in
prison. He appealed his conviction oncein two thousand and three, and requested
habeas relief in twenty eleven. Bothwere denied. Despite a few issues in

(01:01:29):
the courtroom, the evidence was overwhelmingthat Ray had masterminded Shirika's murder. To
this day, Ray has never admittedhis guilt, though he has apologized to
Sharika's family. He has given differinginterviews, one where he refused to accept
any responsibility after about fourteen years inprison, even being the reason that Sharika

(01:01:52):
was near these men he associated with. But later he has also said things
like he is responsible for the situation, but not that he actually planned it,
and he is now a freeman.He was released from prison in twenty
eighteen at the age of forty four. He had been incarcerated for eighteen years.

(01:02:14):
Van Brett Watkins, the shooter,took a plea deal for second degree
murder, conspiracy, and other charges, and was sentenced to fifty years in
prison. Michael Kennedy, the driver, was convicted of second degree murder and
other related charges and spent almost fifteenyears in prison. He was only thirty
six when he was released, withhis whole life ahead of him. Stanley

(01:02:37):
Abraham, Michael's buddy, who gotroped in wound up pleading guilty to a
lesser accessory charge and spent ninety daysin jail. In October of two thousand
and three, Serika's mother, Sondra, won a civil lawsuit against Ray,
Watkins, Michael, and Stanley forfive point eight million dollars. None of
the four men contested the lawsuit,likely because they won't ever have enough money

(01:03:00):
to pay it. The former NFLplayer's bank accounts were depleted by the time
his trial started. A defense bythe likes of David Rudolph ain't cheap,
but by the time Ray got totrial, he was broke. His house
was sold at auction, he wasdeclared indigent, and Rudolph and his team
were instructed to stay on as publicdefenders. During the hearing for this civil

(01:03:22):
lawsuit, Stanley, Michael and Watkinsapologized, Ray, who was in the
midst of an appeal, remained silent, though it's obvious he wouldn't have apologized
then anyway. Watkins claimed he hadturned down book deals to avoid making money
off of this regretful situation. Again, this is bullshitting. Because of the

(01:03:44):
civil suit, any money he madewould have gone to Sondra and Chancellor.
So if he was sorry, whynot write a book and help them?
To be fair? Watkins said,according to ESPN, when I do get
money from my family, I tryto help. If I do get some,
I'll be glad to send you somemoney. Sondra reported that Watkins has
sent her checks for five dollars andten dollars. She believes he was remorseful.

(01:04:09):
Van Brett Watkins died in prison onDecember third, twenty twenty three,
at the age of sixty three.The doc said his death was due to
natural causes. In twenty twenty one, twenty one year old Chancellor Lee Adams
graduated from a Charlotte area high school. He spent four years on the high
school's Exceptional Children's program. Two additionalyears were in a transition program that taught

(01:04:32):
life skills. Sondra has told journaliststhat she is certain Serika would be overjoyed
at Chancellor's accomplishments. He is,by the accounts of many televised interviews,
a very happy guy who is livinghis best life. Ray did actually express
interest in being involved in Chancellor's life. This became public knowledge when Ray,

(01:04:57):
who was still incarcerated, sent theday WBTV news station a fifteen page handwritten
letter in early twenty eighteen. Innsaid letter Ray suggested he would seek custody
of Chancellor once Sondra had passed.Since then, he has rescinded that suggestion.
He now says he will only bein Chancellor's life if it feels comfortable

(01:05:18):
for Sondra and Chancellor's close family.But as it stands currently, Ray and
Chancellor do not have a relationship,although Sondra had said her heart was softening
towards him at one point. SondraAdams is a deeply Christian woman who has
said in many interviews that she hasforgiven the men responsible for her daughter's murder.

(01:05:41):
She also gave an interview saying shewanted people to know that Caruth had
sent a few thousand dollars for thesupport of Chancellor, though it was through
the court system and he had notreached out personally. He was probably required
to send her any money he hadreceived because of the civil suit. Why
else would it go through the courtif Ray was just being magnanimous. I

(01:06:03):
am obviously glad she got some supportfrom Caruth, But other than that,
I'll just say that miss Adams isa much better woman than me. Ray
Caruth had his twenty four year oldgirlfriend murdered because she refused to get an
abortion. This was the third womanhe had gotten pregnant and tried to pressure
into an abortion. It only workedonce with Amber. Maybe the son of

(01:06:28):
a bitch should have tried using condomsif he was so violently opposed to being
a father. Van Brett Watkins diedin prison, and frankly, that's where
Ray Caruth deserved to die. Buthe is a free man now. He
might not be a millionaire, buthe still walks this earth. He turned
fifty years old last month and verymuch enjoys his anonymity. Serika Adams would

(01:06:54):
be forty eight years old today.She might have had more children, she
could have even been a grandmother bynow. All of that was stolen from
her, and she was stolen fromher son, her adoring mother, and
countless family and friends. And whileI feel Ray Caruth should be writing in
prison, he could have gotten offscot free if Serika had not been so

(01:07:15):
brave and strong, not only onthe nine to one one call, but
also in the hospital as she wasfighting for her life. I keep hearing
her pitiful voice on that call,Ray Caruth Number eighty nine. Southern Fried
True Crime is hosted and produced byme Erica Kelly. Today's episode was researched

(01:07:40):
and written by me and Andrea Marshbank. As usual, any editorial comments and
opinions are my own. Southern Fred'soriginal music is by Rob Harrison of Gamma
Radio and the original graphic artist byKully Horner. Today's case was suggested by
Greg Husketh, Patty Hannah, andTerarina. If you have any case suggestions,
please go to my website, SouthernFried Truecrime dot com and click on

(01:08:01):
the listeners suggestion tab or email SFTCResearch at gmail dot com. This is
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(01:08:25):
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(01:08:46):
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Take care,