January 28, 2025 • 26 mins
The story of Ray Carruth, a former NFL player, unveils a tragic narrative of ambition, jealousy, and calculated violence that led to one of the most shocking murders in sports history. Carruth, once celebrated for his talent and potential, found himself embroiled in a web of deceit and manipulation surrounding his relationship with Cherica Adams, who became pregnant with his child. The events of that fateful night in November 1999 changed lives forever, as Cherica's 911 call provided crucial evidence against Carruth, revealing his involvement in a premeditated murder plot. This case not only transformed the NFL's approach to player conduct and domestic violence but also highlighted the resilience of those affected, particularly Cherica's mother, Sandra Adams, who emerged as a powerful advocate for change. Ultimately, this story serves as a poignant reminder of the impact of personal choices and the imperative for accountability in the world of professional sports.
- Former Carolina Panthers player Rae Carruth breaks silence behind bars, hopes for relationship with son
- Rae Carruth, The Women Who Loved Him, And The One He Wanted Dead
- New York Times - “PRO FOOTBALL; Fugitive Football Player Arrested in Tennessee”
- New York Times - “PRO FOOTBALL; Carruth Sentenced To Nearly 19 Years”
- New York Times - “FOOTBALL; Carruth's Girlfriend Is Mourned At Service”
- Charlotte Observer “Rae Carruth case: Timeline of one of Charlotte’s most notorious murders and the aftermath”
- Transcript of 911 call from Cherica Adams | DocumentCloud
- Charlotte Observer “Here’s How NFL Star Rae Carruth And ‘Knockout’ Cherica Adams Met In 1998“
- Charlotte Observer - “Charlotte Observer Documentary: Carruth”
- ABC11.com “Rae Carruth’s Hitman dies in prison”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign hey, fangirls, I'myour host, Judy. And today we're
diving into a story thatchanged the NFL forever. It's about
an NFL player who hadeverything, money, fame, a promising
career, and threw it all awayin one of the most calculated murders
(00:22):
I've ever researched. Thiscase is from 1999, but. But here's
why we're talking about itnow. It fundamentally changed how
the NFL handles playerconduct. And the aftermath of this
story, it's still unfoldingtoday in ways that will break your
heart and also give you hope.This is the story of the Panthers
wide receiver Ray Carruth andCherica Adams. Before we get into
(00:45):
that tragic night inCharlotte, we need to talk about
who these people were. Let'sgo back to Sacramento, California,
where our story begins. Theyear is 1974, and a baby boy is born,
Ray Lamar Wiggins. He latertakes his mother's name, Carruth.
Okay, and this is where weneed to talk about Ray's childhood,
(01:06):
because it sets up everythingthat comes later. Southern Sacramento
in the 1980s. And I mean therough part, we're talking the kind
of neighborhood where burningcars wasn't just vandalism, it was
entertainment. That's whereRay spent most of his time, in his
mom's house, right in themiddle of all of this. And here's
(01:28):
what's wild. When he wasn'tthere, he was at his older sister's
place. Now, her neighborhood,slightly better, but still rough
enough that every window hadbars on it. I mean, how's that for
foreshadowing? Because thosebars, they're basically a preview
of where Ray would spend hisadult years. But here's the thing.
(01:51):
In this whole situation, Ray'sthe only boy in the family. No dad
in the picture, just a mom whois doing everything she can to make
sure her son has a shot atsomething better. She's watching
him like a hawk, pushing himto be better, to get out of there.
But sometimes, sometimes theneighborhood wins anyway. And football,
(02:12):
it wasn't just something heplayed. He was incredible at it.
Picture a high school kidmaintaining a 3.7 GPA while becoming
a star athlete. We're talkingabout someone who seemed to have
everything figured out, withcolleges literally lining up to recruit
him. This is important becausewhat happens later? This isn't a
(02:36):
story about someone who didn'tknow any better or didn't have other
options. He makes it to theUniversity of Colorado on a full
scholarship, and in college,he's just phenomenal. But this is
where we start seeing thefirst red flags. In 1994, while still
in college, Carruth has hisfirst child with Michelle wright,
(02:59):
who was 18 and still in highschool back in Sacramento. And his
behavior here becomes thispattern. We'll see over and over.
He basically wants nothing todo with the baby, falls behind on
child support. What makes thiseven more shocking is that in 1997,
the Carolina Panthers make himtheir first round draft pick, 27th
(03:21):
overall. They sign him to afour year contract worth 3.7 million.
We're talking about lifechanging money here. His rookie season
is actually really promising.He's catching passes, scoring touchdowns,
living what looks like theperfect NFL dream. But off the field,
(03:42):
that's where things getcomplicated. While he's dealing with
all this child support drama,Carruth becomes a known figure in
Charlotte's social scene,dating multiple women at once. He'd
meet them at charity events,clubs, even at church. His former
teammates would later say hecould be incredibly charming when
(04:02):
he wanted to be. And theviolence. While he wasn't physically
violent with these otherwomen, multiple women later came
forward to talk about hiscontrolling behavior. There was this
pattern. He'd get reallyintense really quickly, then start
trying to control every aspectof their lives. One woman who later
(04:24):
asked for anonymity said hewould show up at her workplace unannounced,
just to check on her. But thenCherica Adams enters the picture
and she was different from histypical relationships. You need to
understand who Cherica was,because it's crucial to this story.
She was this incrediblyindependent 24 year old real estate
agent, beautiful. She'd donesome modeling work, but she was also
(04:48):
really ambitious. She had herown money, her own career, her own
life. She wasn't impressed bythe fact that Carruth was an NFL
player. They meet at this poolparty in 1998, and friends say Sharika
wasn't even that interested atfirst. But Carruth pursues her and
they start this casualrelationship. It's not exclusive.
(05:12):
Cherika's friends say she wasdating other people too, which apparently
drove Carruth crazy. Andhere's what's so hypocritical. While
he's getting jealous aboutSharika dating others, he's still
seeing at least two otherwomen. One of them, Amber Turner,
would later testify at histrial about how he pressured her
to get an abortion when shegot pregnant. Let me tell you about
(05:35):
Carruth's life in Charlottebecause this gets really interesting.
He wasn't your typical NFLplayer, living large. His teammates
actually described him aspretty quiet, kind of a loner. But
here's the thing. He had thiswhole other life when it came to
women. Let's start withMichelle Wright, who had his first
child. Even after signing thatmultimillion dollar NFL contract,
(06:00):
Carruth was constantly behindon child support. Think about this.
Someone making 38,000 per weekduring the season, fighting over
paying 3,000amonth for hischild. Everything changes when Sharika
gets pregnant in early 1999.Carruth's first reaction. He offers
(06:21):
her money for an abortion, butCherica refuses. She's financially
stable, has a support systemand wants this baby. And this is
where we see Carruth gothrough this bizarre transformation.
At first he's angry. Then heseems to accept it. He starts showing
up at her doctor'sappointments, buying baby things.
(06:41):
But her friends say somethingfeels off. Cherica starts telling
her mom, Sondra about theseweird conversations. Carruth keeps
bringing up his child supportpayments for his first kid, complaining
about how much money he'slosing. He starts asking really specific
questions about her insurance,about her will. Looking back, it's
(07:03):
like he was gatheringinformation in the months before
the shooting. He does thiscomplete 180. He starts being super
nice, taking her on dates,acting like the perfect boyfriend.
But he's also asking her to doweird things, like always following
his car in her car instead ofriding together and fangirls. This
detail becomes crucial later.And this is where things really start
(07:27):
falling apart. Because you'vegot Ray's football career, the one
thing he was supposed to begood at, just crumbling. First, he's
dealing with these injuriesthat keep him off the field. But
then, even when he's healthyenough to play, he's riding the bench.
His performance is tanking.But here's the thing that's going
to matter later. While he'slosing his grip on football, he's
(07:51):
finding new friends. And Idon't mean the kind of friends his
mom back in Sacramento wouldhave approved of. We're talking about
guys who are into violence,who are comfortable with crime. Remember
that close watch his mom kepton him in high school? That's gone
now. There's no one monitoringhis choices, no one steering him
(08:12):
away from these dangerousconnections. And these new friends,
they're about to play a hugerole in what happens next during
this whole nice boyfriendphase. Phone records would later
show he's meeting with one ofthese thugs, Van Bret Watkins. He's
literally planning her murderwhile buying baby clothes with her.
(08:34):
In the months leading up tothe shooting, Chericastarts keeping
this diary. When police foundit later, it painted this really
disturbing Picture of howCarruth was manipulating everything.
In May 1999, when Cherika isabout three months pregnant, Carruth
starts this whole new routine.He's suddenly super interested in
her doctor's appointments. Buthere's the weird thing. He always
(08:58):
insists on meeting her there,never driving together at first,
Sharika actually writes in herdiary that she thinks it's sweet,
like he's making an effort tobe involved while respecting her
independence. But her mom,Sondre, she's seeing red flags everywhere.
There's this really chillingentry from August 1999. Cherica writes
(09:20):
about how Carruth keepsbringing up his life insurance policy,
asking about hers, wanting toknow who her beneficiaries are. And
in September, he starts takingher on these weird late night drives.
Always wants her to follow himin her car. Always picks these dark,
less traveled roads. He tellsher it's romantic, like their own
(09:41):
little thing. But he'sactually rehearsing the murder. Police
later believed he was testingdifferent routes, seeing which roads
had the least traffic, thefewest witnesses. But here's something
that makes it even worse.During this whole time, Cherica is
planning their future. Policefound all these baby magazines in
(10:01):
her house, nursery plans, evena little panther's jersey she'd bought
for the baby. Now let's get tothe night of November 16, 1999. Cherica
and Carruth had just been tosee the Bone Collector at Regal Cinema
in South Charlotte. Multiplepeople at the theater later remembered
seeing them because theyseemed off. One employee said they
(10:23):
weren't talking to each otherand they left separately, even though
they'd arrived together. It'sabout 12:30am and Cherica's following
Carruth's car. He's in hiswhite Expedition, she's in her black
BMW. They're heading down RiaRoad. And this is important because
Rhea Road at night is prettydark, especially back in 99. She
(10:46):
told her mom earlier thatCarruth wanted to talk about the
baby at his place. But here'swhat's chilling. Phone records later
showed that Carruth had beenmaking calls to the shooter, Van
Bret Watkins, all evening. Hewas coordinating everything. So they're
driving down Rhea Road andsuddenly Carruth stops his car, just
(11:07):
stops in the middle of theroad. Cherica has to stop too, right?
And that's when this blackNissan Maxima pulls up beside her.
Watkins is a passenger in thecar and he shoots at her five times
with his.38 and metal jacketedbullets. The bullets easily go through
the glass of the BMW, strikingher four times. The shooting Happens
(11:27):
so fast. But what makes thiscase so powerful is that Cherica,
she manages to make thisincredibly detailed 911 call. The
911 call comes in at exactly12:31:54am the first words Cherica
manages to say are, police,I've been shot. I've been shot. She's
(11:50):
somehow keeping it togetherenough to speak, even though she's
been hit multiple times andshe's eight months pregnant. The
dispatcher asks her where sheis. And y'all, this is what's so
heartbreaking. Sharika isstruggling just to figure out her
location. She knows she passedCalvary Church. She knows she's on
Ray Road, but she's losingblood and getting disoriented. So
(12:14):
what does she do? She startshonking her horn. She's literally
fighting for her life, and shehas the presence of mind to try to
help emergency services findher. But what Sharika says next,
it blows the case wide open.The medic asks her what happened,
and she tells them, I wasfollowing my baby's daddy, Ray Carruth,
(12:35):
the football player. Just likethat. She names him. She describes
his white expedition, evencorrects herself about the color
when she first says it'sblack. And y'all, this call goes
on for 12 minutes. 12 minuteswhile she's bleeding, while she's
trying to stay conscious,while she's trying to keep herself
(12:55):
and her unborn baby alive. Themedics are telling her to put pressure
on her wounds. She's trying togive them better directions. And
then, and this is absolutelychilling, she tells them that the
shooter's car has just drivenpast again. Think about that for
a second. She's been shotmultiple times. She's losing blood,
(13:15):
but she's still alert enoughto notice the shooter's car coming
back to the scene. And throughall of this, she keeps updating the
emergency responders about hercondition. At one point, she simply
says, I'm bleeding, in thisvoice that just. And it'll break
your heart when you hear itwhen help finally arrives. And remember,
(13:36):
this is after 44 excruciatingminutes. Sharika has provided enough
information to not only saveher own life in that moment, but
to ultimately solve hermurder. Her incredible strength and
presence of mind during that911 call would become crucial evidence
in convicting Ray Carruth. Theparamedics arrive at 12:48am they
(13:58):
immediately realize this iscritical. She has multiple gunshot
wounds. She's eight monthspregnant, and she's losing blood
fast. They make the decisionto airlift her to Carolina's medical
Center. And Carruth, he'sgone. Remember his car? He drove
away right after the shooting.But here's what's wild. Surveillance
(14:22):
cameras from a nearby businesscatch his white expedition circling
back about 10 minutes later.He's literally driving past the crime
scene. While emergencyresponders are working on Sharika.
During emergency surgery,doctors have to make an impossible
choice. Sharika is losing somuch blood, and the baby is in distress.
(14:43):
They perform an emergency Csection to save the baby. Chancellor
Lee Adams. Chancellorsurvives, but he's suffered severe
brain damage from loss ofoxygen. She fights for her life for
another month. She's in andout of consciousness, but when she
(15:03):
is awake, she's still helpingthe investigation. She writes notes,
confirms details, even helpspolice understand the sequence of
events. Okay. And the way theyfinally catch Ray, it's wild. So
nine days after the shooting,police show up at his door. And because
this is Ray we're talkingabout, he answers completely naked
with some woman in hisbedroom, like that's what he's doing.
(15:26):
While Sharika is fighting forher life in the hospital, they arrest
him. But his mom posts hisbail. And this is where it gets crazy.
Ray decides to run. But here'sthe thing about running from your
mom. When she's posted yourbail, she is not about to lose that
money. So what does she do?She turns him in. And where do they
find him? In the trunk of acar at this sketchy motel in Tennessee.
(15:49):
Not exactly the 5 startreatment an NFL player is used to,
right? He's got some snacks, acell phone, and about 4,000 in cash
stuffed in there with him. Butclearly he wasn't counting on his
own mother choosing justiceover protecting him. The trial starts
in October 2000, and thisbecomes one of the most watched trials
in North Carolina history.What makes it even more complicated
(16:12):
is that there are actuallyfour separate trials because Carruth
wasn't working alone. You haveRay Carruth, Van Bret Watkins, the
triggerman, Michael Kennedy,who drove the car, and Stanley Abraham,
who was in the back seatduring the shooting. Van Brett Watkins,
this guy with a seriouscriminal record, takes a plea deal
pretty early on. He agrees totestify against Carruth, and his
(16:36):
story is shocking. He tellsthe jury that Carruth paid him $6,000
to kill Cherica and the baby.Remember, Carruth is making millions
at this point. But what thejury never heard was Watkins's whole
history of violence. He'd beeninvolved in multiple shootings before
this and was actually known asa hitman in certain circles. In Charlotte,
(16:57):
Michael Kennedy, the driver,was this Middleman who moved between
Charlotte's criminal world andthe pro athlete scene. He actually
knew several Panthers playersand would sometimes do odd jobs for
them. Totally legal stuff,usually like moving furniture or
running errands. It wasKennedy who connected Carruth with
(17:18):
Watkins. What's reallychilling is that phone records show
Carruth and Watkins hadmultiple calls in the weeks before
the murder. The prosecutorsfound that they met at least three
times to plan everything out.But Watkins says this wasn't just
about money. He says Carruthwas obsessed with the idea that this
baby would ruin his career,his reputation, everything. Watkins
(17:43):
gets sentenced to 40 years inprison. He died in prison in 2023
at the age of 63. Kennedy getssentenced to about 11 years and was
released in 2011. StanleyAbraham served about two years. Now,
Carruth's defense strategy,it's actually pretty bold. He hires
David Rudolph, this highprofile defense attorney known for
(18:06):
handling complex murder cases.Instead of just denying everything,
they try to flip the wholenarrative. They argue this was all
about a drug deal gone wrong,claiming that Cherica was actually
buying drugs from Watkins andthat Carruth had nothing to do with
it. They bring in this wholetimeline about how Carruth supposedly
loaned Watkins money for adrug deal and that Cherica was somehow
(18:30):
involved. The prosecutiontears this apart. They bring in Sharika's
medical records showing nodrug use during pregnancy, her pristine
financial records, andtestimony from her co workers about
her normal behavior. Thedefense also tries to discredit Watkins
by bringing up his mentalhealth history and his changing stories.
(18:52):
The prosecution builds theircase layer by layer. They start with
Cherica's 911 call, which isdevastating to hear in court. But
then they bring in thisunexpected witness, the manager of
a Best Buy store. Two daysbefore the shooting, Carruth had
gone to Best Buy and bought aspecific type of phone. The prosecution
(19:15):
proves he bought this phonefor one reason only, to communicate
with the hitmen. He only usesit for six days, only to call them,
then gets rid of it rightafter the shooting. They bring in
a cell phone expert who mapsout every single call between Carruth
and the other suspects. Theyliterally show the jury how all these
(19:35):
calls happen right before andright after the shooting. Then comes
Michael Kennedy's girlfriend,who testifies that Kennedy told her
everything about the planbeforehand. She even says that Carruth
had this whole setup workedout, how he would get Sharika to
follow him, where everyonewould be positioned. The defense
(19:57):
tries everything to discredither, bringing up her criminal record,
suggesting she's lying toprotect Kennedy. But she doesn't
break. And then theprosecution brings in the bank records
showing that Carruth withdrewexactly $6,000. The Mount Watkins
said he was promised for thehit just days before the shooting.
(20:20):
The defense tries to claim itwas for Christmas shopping in November.
But the most powerfultestimony comes from Sandra Adams,
Cherica's mother. She tellsthe jury about these notes Cherika
wrote in the hospital beforeshe died. The defense tries to keep
these notes out, arguing theirhearsay, but the judge allows them
(20:41):
because they're considereddying declarations. The notes detailed
everything. How Carruth hadbeen acting strange, making her follow
him places, asking about herlife insurance. The prosecution then
brings in Carruth's exgirlfriend from college, who testifies
about how Carruth reacted whenshe got pregnant, how he also pressured
(21:03):
her to get an abortion, how hesaid a baby would ruin his career.
When Watkins takes the stand,his testimony is explosive. He looks
right at Carruth in thecourtroom and says, you paid me to
kill Cherica Adams and thebaby. The defense tries to paint
Watkins as this unstablecriminal who's lying to get a better
deal. But then the prosecutionpulls out letters Carruth wrote from
(21:27):
jail to various people. In oneof them, he basically admits he was
involved, but tries to blameeverything on Watkins. There's this
dramatic moment when theprosecution brings in the actual
clothes Cherica was wearingthat night. There's this audible
gasp in the courtroom. Theyshow how the shots were fired, the
angles, the positions,everything matching exactly what
(21:50):
Cherica had described in her911 call. Carruth sits there completely
emotionless throughout most ofthe trial. The only time he shows
any reaction is when they playa video of Chancellor showing his
disabilities from theshooting. And even then, witnesses
say he just looked annoyed.The trial goes on for three months.
(22:11):
The defense tries everything,suggesting other suspects claiming
it was a drug deal gone wrong,even trying to blame Sharika for
being in that situation. Butthe prosecution just keeps building
their case piece by piece.This case is different from other
NFL violence cases we oftendiscuss. You know, how we talk about
(22:33):
CTE in cases where NFL playerscommit violent acts, like with Aaron
Hernandez. But what Carruthdid was methodically planned. Over
weeks, he coordinated withmultiple people, said, set up the
exact timing, planned anescape route. This wasn't about brain
injury causing him to snap.This was cold, calculated murder
(22:53):
for hire. This case becomesthis huge wake up call for the NFL.
Before this, they had somebasic conduct policies, but nothing
really comprehensive. AfterCarruth, they completely overhaul
their personal conduct policy.They start doing way more intensive
background checks on playersthey create this whole new system
(23:13):
for monitoring off fieldbehavior called the Player Engagement
program. They start payingattention to things like domestic
violence reports, childsupport payments, any kind of legal
issues. Every team now has adirector of player engagement who's
specifically trained to spotpotential issues. They look for things
(23:34):
like sudden changes inbehavior, financial problems, relationship
issues. If a player startsmissing child support payments or
has domestic disputes thattriggers an immediate intervention.
They also monitor social mediaactivity, relationships with known
criminals, and even gamblingpatterns. It might seem invasive,
(23:54):
but after cases like Carruth,the NFL argued they needed to be
more proactive. They createdthis confidential counseling program
where players can get helpwithout it being reported to their
teams. And they have thiswhole financial management program
that's mandatory for rookies.The NFL definitely takes these issues
(24:16):
more seriously. Now, what'sreally significant is how the Carruth
case influenced the NFL'sapproach to domestic violence. Specifically,
before this case, domesticviolence was treated almost like
a PR problem, something to bemanaged after it happened. But after
Carruth, the NFL startedviewing it as a preventable crime.
(24:37):
They created this network ofdomestic violence experts who work
directly with teams. Theseexperts do everything from educational
programs to crisisintervention. Every team now has
direct connections with localdomestic violence organizations.
They have protocols for when aplayer is accused of domestic violence.
Immediate suspension with paywhile they investigate mandatory
(25:00):
counseling and regular checkins with league officials. The number
of reported incidents actuallywent up at first, but experts say
that's partly because victimsfelt more supported in coming forward.
The real change is in howthese cases are handled. Think about
the Ray rice case in 2014. TheNFL's response to that was shaped
(25:22):
by policies that came out ofthe Carruth case. What's really interesting
is how this has influencedother sports leagues. The NBA and
MLB have actually modeled someof their domestic violence policies
on what the NFL put in placeafter Carruth. But there's still
this ongoing debate aboutwhether the league is doing enough
(25:43):
or if they're just better atmanaging the PR around these incidents.
Ray Carruth was released fromprison in 2018 after serving 19 years.
But fangirls, this story isn'treally about Rae Carruth. It's about
Cherica Adams, whose life wascut tragically short. It's about
Chancellor Lee Adams, whodefied every medical expectation
(26:07):
and graduated high schooldespite his challenges. And it's
about Sandra Adams, who turnedthis tragedy into a mission of love
and forgiveness. That is allfor this story. Stay safe, stay passionate,
and don't let anyone dim yourlove of the game.
Foreign hey, fangirls, I'myour host, Judy. And today we're
diving into a story thatchanged the NFL forever. It's about
an NFL player who hadeverything, money, fame, a promising
career, and threw it all awayin one of the most calculated murders
(00:22):
I've ever researched. Thiscase is from 1999, but. But here's
why we're talking about itnow. It fundamentally changed how
the NFL handles playerconduct. And the aftermath of this
story, it's still unfoldingtoday in ways that will break your
heart and also give you hope.This is the story of the Panthers
wide receiver Ray Carruth andCherica Adams. Before we get into
(00:45):
that tragic night inCharlotte, we need to talk about
who these people were. Let'sgo back to Sacramento, California,
where our story begins. Theyear is 1974, and a baby boy is born,
Ray Lamar Wiggins. He latertakes his mother's name, Carruth.
Okay, and this is where weneed to talk about Ray's childhood,
(01:06):
because it sets up everythingthat comes later. Southern Sacramento
in the 1980s. And I mean therough part, we're talking the kind
of neighborhood where burningcars wasn't just vandalism, it was
entertainment. That's whereRay spent most of his time, in his
mom's house, right in themiddle of all of this. And here's
(01:28):
what's wild. When he wasn'tthere, he was at his older sister's
place. Now, her neighborhood,slightly better, but still rough
enough that every window hadbars on it. I mean, how's that for
foreshadowing? Because thosebars, they're basically a preview
of where Ray would spend hisadult years. But here's the thing.
(01:51):
In this whole situation, Ray'sthe only boy in the family. No dad
in the picture, just a mom whois doing everything she can to make
sure her son has a shot atsomething better. She's watching
him like a hawk, pushing himto be better, to get out of there.
But sometimes, sometimes theneighborhood wins anyway. And football,
(02:12):
it wasn't just something heplayed. He was incredible at it.
Picture a high school kidmaintaining a 3.7 GPA while becoming
a star athlete. We're talkingabout someone who seemed to have
everything figured out, withcolleges literally lining up to recruit
him. This is important becausewhat happens later? This isn't a
(02:36):
story about someone who didn'tknow any better or didn't have other
options. He makes it to theUniversity of Colorado on a full
scholarship, and in college,he's just phenomenal. But this is
where we start seeing thefirst red flags. In 1994, while still
in college, Carruth has hisfirst child with Michelle wright,
(02:59):
who was 18 and still in highschool back in Sacramento. And his
behavior here becomes thispattern. We'll see over and over.
He basically wants nothing todo with the baby, falls behind on
child support. What makes thiseven more shocking is that in 1997,
the Carolina Panthers make himtheir first round draft pick, 27th
(03:21):
overall. They sign him to afour year contract worth 3.7 million.
We're talking about lifechanging money here. His rookie season
is actually really promising.He's catching passes, scoring touchdowns,
living what looks like theperfect NFL dream. But off the field,
(03:42):
that's where things getcomplicated. While he's dealing with
all this child support drama,Carruth becomes a known figure in
Charlotte's social scene,dating multiple women at once. He'd
meet them at charity events,clubs, even at church. His former
teammates would later say hecould be incredibly charming when
(04:02):
he wanted to be. And theviolence. While he wasn't physically
violent with these otherwomen, multiple women later came
forward to talk about hiscontrolling behavior. There was this
pattern. He'd get reallyintense really quickly, then start
trying to control every aspectof their lives. One woman who later
(04:24):
asked for anonymity said hewould show up at her workplace unannounced,
just to check on her. But thenCherica Adams enters the picture
and she was different from histypical relationships. You need to
understand who Cherica was,because it's crucial to this story.
She was this incrediblyindependent 24 year old real estate
agent, beautiful. She'd donesome modeling work, but she was also
(04:48):
really ambitious. She had herown money, her own career, her own
life. She wasn't impressed bythe fact that Carruth was an NFL
player. They meet at this poolparty in 1998, and friends say Sharika
wasn't even that interested atfirst. But Carruth pursues her and
they start this casualrelationship. It's not exclusive.
(05:12):
Cherika's friends say she wasdating other people too, which apparently
drove Carruth crazy. Andhere's what's so hypocritical. While
he's getting jealous aboutSharika dating others, he's still
seeing at least two otherwomen. One of them, Amber Turner,
would later testify at histrial about how he pressured her
to get an abortion when shegot pregnant. Let me tell you about
(05:35):
Carruth's life in Charlottebecause this gets really interesting.
He wasn't your typical NFLplayer, living large. His teammates
actually described him aspretty quiet, kind of a loner. But
here's the thing. He had thiswhole other life when it came to
women. Let's start withMichelle Wright, who had his first
child. Even after signing thatmultimillion dollar NFL contract,
(06:00):
Carruth was constantly behindon child support. Think about this.
Someone making 38,000 per weekduring the season, fighting over
paying 3,000amonth for hischild. Everything changes when Sharika
gets pregnant in early 1999.Carruth's first reaction. He offers
(06:21):
her money for an abortion, butCherica refuses. She's financially
stable, has a support systemand wants this baby. And this is
where we see Carruth gothrough this bizarre transformation.
At first he's angry. Then heseems to accept it. He starts showing
up at her doctor'sappointments, buying baby things.
(06:41):
But her friends say somethingfeels off. Cherica starts telling
her mom, Sondra about theseweird conversations. Carruth keeps
bringing up his child supportpayments for his first kid, complaining
about how much money he'slosing. He starts asking really specific
questions about her insurance,about her will. Looking back, it's
(07:03):
like he was gatheringinformation in the months before
the shooting. He does thiscomplete 180. He starts being super
nice, taking her on dates,acting like the perfect boyfriend.
But he's also asking her to doweird things, like always following
his car in her car instead ofriding together and fangirls. This
detail becomes crucial later.And this is where things really start
(07:27):
falling apart. Because you'vegot Ray's football career, the one
thing he was supposed to begood at, just crumbling. First, he's
dealing with these injuriesthat keep him off the field. But
then, even when he's healthyenough to play, he's riding the bench.
His performance is tanking.But here's the thing that's going
to matter later. While he'slosing his grip on football, he's
(07:51):
finding new friends. And Idon't mean the kind of friends his
mom back in Sacramento wouldhave approved of. We're talking about
guys who are into violence,who are comfortable with crime. Remember
that close watch his mom kepton him in high school? That's gone
now. There's no one monitoringhis choices, no one steering him
(08:12):
away from these dangerousconnections. And these new friends,
they're about to play a hugerole in what happens next during
this whole nice boyfriendphase. Phone records would later
show he's meeting with one ofthese thugs, Van Bret Watkins. He's
literally planning her murderwhile buying baby clothes with her.
(08:34):
In the months leading up tothe shooting, Chericastarts keeping
this diary. When police foundit later, it painted this really
disturbing Picture of howCarruth was manipulating everything.
In May 1999, when Cherika isabout three months pregnant, Carruth
starts this whole new routine.He's suddenly super interested in
her doctor's appointments. Buthere's the weird thing. He always
(08:58):
insists on meeting her there,never driving together at first,
Sharika actually writes in herdiary that she thinks it's sweet,
like he's making an effort tobe involved while respecting her
independence. But her mom,Sondre, she's seeing red flags everywhere.
There's this really chillingentry from August 1999. Cherica writes
(09:20):
about how Carruth keepsbringing up his life insurance policy,
asking about hers, wanting toknow who her beneficiaries are. And
in September, he starts takingher on these weird late night drives.
Always wants her to follow himin her car. Always picks these dark,
less traveled roads. He tellsher it's romantic, like their own
(09:41):
little thing. But he'sactually rehearsing the murder. Police
later believed he was testingdifferent routes, seeing which roads
had the least traffic, thefewest witnesses. But here's something
that makes it even worse.During this whole time, Cherica is
planning their future. Policefound all these baby magazines in
(10:01):
her house, nursery plans, evena little panther's jersey she'd bought
for the baby. Now let's get tothe night of November 16, 1999. Cherica
and Carruth had just been tosee the Bone Collector at Regal Cinema
in South Charlotte. Multiplepeople at the theater later remembered
seeing them because theyseemed off. One employee said they
(10:23):
weren't talking to each otherand they left separately, even though
they'd arrived together. It'sabout 12:30am and Cherica's following
Carruth's car. He's in hiswhite Expedition, she's in her black
BMW. They're heading down RiaRoad. And this is important because
Rhea Road at night is prettydark, especially back in 99. She
(10:46):
told her mom earlier thatCarruth wanted to talk about the
baby at his place. But here'swhat's chilling. Phone records later
showed that Carruth had beenmaking calls to the shooter, Van
Bret Watkins, all evening. Hewas coordinating everything. So they're
driving down Rhea Road andsuddenly Carruth stops his car, just
(11:07):
stops in the middle of theroad. Cherica has to stop too, right?
And that's when this blackNissan Maxima pulls up beside her.
Watkins is a passenger in thecar and he shoots at her five times
with his.38 and metal jacketedbullets. The bullets easily go through
the glass of the BMW, strikingher four times. The shooting Happens
(11:27):
so fast. But what makes thiscase so powerful is that Cherica,
she manages to make thisincredibly detailed 911 call. The
911 call comes in at exactly12:31:54am the first words Cherica
manages to say are, police,I've been shot. I've been shot. She's
(11:50):
somehow keeping it togetherenough to speak, even though she's
been hit multiple times andshe's eight months pregnant. The
dispatcher asks her where sheis. And y'all, this is what's so
heartbreaking. Sharika isstruggling just to figure out her
location. She knows she passedCalvary Church. She knows she's on
Ray Road, but she's losingblood and getting disoriented. So
(12:14):
what does she do? She startshonking her horn. She's literally
fighting for her life, and shehas the presence of mind to try to
help emergency services findher. But what Sharika says next,
it blows the case wide open.The medic asks her what happened,
and she tells them, I wasfollowing my baby's daddy, Ray Carruth,
(12:35):
the football player. Just likethat. She names him. She describes
his white expedition, evencorrects herself about the color
when she first says it'sblack. And y'all, this call goes
on for 12 minutes. 12 minuteswhile she's bleeding, while she's
trying to stay conscious,while she's trying to keep herself
(12:55):
and her unborn baby alive. Themedics are telling her to put pressure
on her wounds. She's trying togive them better directions. And
then, and this is absolutelychilling, she tells them that the
shooter's car has just drivenpast again. Think about that for
a second. She's been shotmultiple times. She's losing blood,
(13:15):
but she's still alert enoughto notice the shooter's car coming
back to the scene. And throughall of this, she keeps updating the
emergency responders about hercondition. At one point, she simply
says, I'm bleeding, in thisvoice that just. And it'll break
your heart when you hear itwhen help finally arrives. And remember,
(13:36):
this is after 44 excruciatingminutes. Sharika has provided enough
information to not only saveher own life in that moment, but
to ultimately solve hermurder. Her incredible strength and
presence of mind during that911 call would become crucial evidence
in convicting Ray Carruth. Theparamedics arrive at 12:48am they
(13:58):
immediately realize this iscritical. She has multiple gunshot
wounds. She's eight monthspregnant, and she's losing blood
fast. They make the decisionto airlift her to Carolina's medical
Center. And Carruth, he'sgone. Remember his car? He drove
away right after the shooting.But here's what's wild. Surveillance
(14:22):
cameras from a nearby businesscatch his white expedition circling
back about 10 minutes later.He's literally driving past the crime
scene. While emergencyresponders are working on Sharika.
During emergency surgery,doctors have to make an impossible
choice. Sharika is losing somuch blood, and the baby is in distress.
(14:43):
They perform an emergency Csection to save the baby. Chancellor
Lee Adams. Chancellorsurvives, but he's suffered severe
brain damage from loss ofoxygen. She fights for her life for
another month. She's in andout of consciousness, but when she
(15:03):
is awake, she's still helpingthe investigation. She writes notes,
confirms details, even helpspolice understand the sequence of
events. Okay. And the way theyfinally catch Ray, it's wild. So
nine days after the shooting,police show up at his door. And because
this is Ray we're talkingabout, he answers completely naked
with some woman in hisbedroom, like that's what he's doing.
(15:26):
While Sharika is fighting forher life in the hospital, they arrest
him. But his mom posts hisbail. And this is where it gets crazy.
Ray decides to run. But here'sthe thing about running from your
mom. When she's posted yourbail, she is not about to lose that
money. So what does she do?She turns him in. And where do they
find him? In the trunk of acar at this sketchy motel in Tennessee.
(15:49):
Not exactly the 5 startreatment an NFL player is used to,
right? He's got some snacks, acell phone, and about 4,000 in cash
stuffed in there with him. Butclearly he wasn't counting on his
own mother choosing justiceover protecting him. The trial starts
in October 2000, and thisbecomes one of the most watched trials
in North Carolina history.What makes it even more complicated
(16:12):
is that there are actuallyfour separate trials because Carruth
wasn't working alone. You haveRay Carruth, Van Bret Watkins, the
triggerman, Michael Kennedy,who drove the car, and Stanley Abraham,
who was in the back seatduring the shooting. Van Brett Watkins,
this guy with a seriouscriminal record, takes a plea deal
pretty early on. He agrees totestify against Carruth, and his
(16:36):
story is shocking. He tellsthe jury that Carruth paid him $6,000
to kill Cherica and the baby.Remember, Carruth is making millions
at this point. But what thejury never heard was Watkins's whole
history of violence. He'd beeninvolved in multiple shootings before
this and was actually known asa hitman in certain circles. In Charlotte,
(16:57):
Michael Kennedy, the driver,was this Middleman who moved between
Charlotte's criminal world andthe pro athlete scene. He actually
knew several Panthers playersand would sometimes do odd jobs for
them. Totally legal stuff,usually like moving furniture or
running errands. It wasKennedy who connected Carruth with
(17:18):
Watkins. What's reallychilling is that phone records show
Carruth and Watkins hadmultiple calls in the weeks before
the murder. The prosecutorsfound that they met at least three
times to plan everything out.But Watkins says this wasn't just
about money. He says Carruthwas obsessed with the idea that this
baby would ruin his career,his reputation, everything. Watkins
(17:43):
gets sentenced to 40 years inprison. He died in prison in 2023
at the age of 63. Kennedy getssentenced to about 11 years and was
released in 2011. StanleyAbraham served about two years. Now,
Carruth's defense strategy,it's actually pretty bold. He hires
David Rudolph, this highprofile defense attorney known for
(18:06):
handling complex murder cases.Instead of just denying everything,
they try to flip the wholenarrative. They argue this was all
about a drug deal gone wrong,claiming that Cherica was actually
buying drugs from Watkins andthat Carruth had nothing to do with
it. They bring in this wholetimeline about how Carruth supposedly
loaned Watkins money for adrug deal and that Cherica was somehow
(18:30):
involved. The prosecutiontears this apart. They bring in Sharika's
medical records showing nodrug use during pregnancy, her pristine
financial records, andtestimony from her co workers about
her normal behavior. Thedefense also tries to discredit Watkins
by bringing up his mentalhealth history and his changing stories.
(18:52):
The prosecution builds theircase layer by layer. They start with
Cherica's 911 call, which isdevastating to hear in court. But
then they bring in thisunexpected witness, the manager of
a Best Buy store. Two daysbefore the shooting, Carruth had
gone to Best Buy and bought aspecific type of phone. The prosecution
(19:15):
proves he bought this phonefor one reason only, to communicate
with the hitmen. He only usesit for six days, only to call them,
then gets rid of it rightafter the shooting. They bring in
a cell phone expert who mapsout every single call between Carruth
and the other suspects. Theyliterally show the jury how all these
(19:35):
calls happen right before andright after the shooting. Then comes
Michael Kennedy's girlfriend,who testifies that Kennedy told her
everything about the planbeforehand. She even says that Carruth
had this whole setup workedout, how he would get Sharika to
follow him, where everyonewould be positioned. The defense
(19:57):
tries everything to discredither, bringing up her criminal record,
suggesting she's lying toprotect Kennedy. But she doesn't
break. And then theprosecution brings in the bank records
showing that Carruth withdrewexactly $6,000. The Mount Watkins
said he was promised for thehit just days before the shooting.
(20:20):
The defense tries to claim itwas for Christmas shopping in November.
But the most powerfultestimony comes from Sandra Adams,
Cherica's mother. She tellsthe jury about these notes Cherika
wrote in the hospital beforeshe died. The defense tries to keep
these notes out, arguing theirhearsay, but the judge allows them
(20:41):
because they're considereddying declarations. The notes detailed
everything. How Carruth hadbeen acting strange, making her follow
him places, asking about herlife insurance. The prosecution then
brings in Carruth's exgirlfriend from college, who testifies
about how Carruth reacted whenshe got pregnant, how he also pressured
(21:03):
her to get an abortion, how hesaid a baby would ruin his career.
When Watkins takes the stand,his testimony is explosive. He looks
right at Carruth in thecourtroom and says, you paid me to
kill Cherica Adams and thebaby. The defense tries to paint
Watkins as this unstablecriminal who's lying to get a better
deal. But then the prosecutionpulls out letters Carruth wrote from
(21:27):
jail to various people. In oneof them, he basically admits he was
involved, but tries to blameeverything on Watkins. There's this
dramatic moment when theprosecution brings in the actual
clothes Cherica was wearingthat night. There's this audible
gasp in the courtroom. Theyshow how the shots were fired, the
angles, the positions,everything matching exactly what
(21:50):
Cherica had described in her911 call. Carruth sits there completely
emotionless throughout most ofthe trial. The only time he shows
any reaction is when they playa video of Chancellor showing his
disabilities from theshooting. And even then, witnesses
say he just looked annoyed.The trial goes on for three months.
(22:11):
The defense tries everything,suggesting other suspects claiming
it was a drug deal gone wrong,even trying to blame Sharika for
being in that situation. Butthe prosecution just keeps building
their case piece by piece.This case is different from other
NFL violence cases we oftendiscuss. You know, how we talk about
(22:33):
CTE in cases where NFL playerscommit violent acts, like with Aaron
Hernandez. But what Carruthdid was methodically planned. Over
weeks, he coordinated withmultiple people, said, set up the
exact timing, planned anescape route. This wasn't about brain
injury causing him to snap.This was cold, calculated murder
(22:53):
for hire. This case becomesthis huge wake up call for the NFL.
Before this, they had somebasic conduct policies, but nothing
really comprehensive. AfterCarruth, they completely overhaul
their personal conduct policy.They start doing way more intensive
background checks on playersthey create this whole new system
(23:13):
for monitoring off fieldbehavior called the Player Engagement
program. They start payingattention to things like domestic
violence reports, childsupport payments, any kind of legal
issues. Every team now has adirector of player engagement who's
specifically trained to spotpotential issues. They look for things
(23:34):
like sudden changes inbehavior, financial problems, relationship
issues. If a player startsmissing child support payments or
has domestic disputes thattriggers an immediate intervention.
They also monitor social mediaactivity, relationships with known
criminals, and even gamblingpatterns. It might seem invasive,
(23:54):
but after cases like Carruth,the NFL argued they needed to be
more proactive. They createdthis confidential counseling program
where players can get helpwithout it being reported to their
teams. And they have thiswhole financial management program
that's mandatory for rookies.The NFL definitely takes these issues
(24:16):
more seriously. Now, what'sreally significant is how the Carruth
case influenced the NFL'sapproach to domestic violence. Specifically,
before this case, domesticviolence was treated almost like
a PR problem, something to bemanaged after it happened. But after
Carruth, the NFL startedviewing it as a preventable crime.
(24:37):
They created this network ofdomestic violence experts who work
directly with teams. Theseexperts do everything from educational
programs to crisisintervention. Every team now has
direct connections with localdomestic violence organizations.
They have protocols for when aplayer is accused of domestic violence.
Immediate suspension with paywhile they investigate mandatory
(25:00):
counseling and regular checkins with league officials. The number
of reported incidents actuallywent up at first, but experts say
that's partly because victimsfelt more supported in coming forward.
The real change is in howthese cases are handled. Think about
the Ray rice case in 2014. TheNFL's response to that was shaped
(25:22):
by policies that came out ofthe Carruth case. What's really interesting
is how this has influencedother sports leagues. The NBA and
MLB have actually modeled someof their domestic violence policies
on what the NFL put in placeafter Carruth. But there's still
this ongoing debate aboutwhether the league is doing enough
(25:43):
or if they're just better atmanaging the PR around these incidents.
Ray Carruth was released fromprison in 2018 after serving 19 years.
But fangirls, this story isn'treally about Rae Carruth. It's about
Cherica Adams, whose life wascut tragically short. It's about
Chancellor Lee Adams, whodefied every medical expectation
(26:07):
and graduated high schooldespite his challenges. And it's
about Sandra Adams, who turnedthis tragedy into a mission of love
and forgiveness. That is allfor this story. Stay safe, stay passionate,
and don't let anyone dim yourlove of the game.
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