Rae Carruth
Encyclopedia
Rae Carruth is a former American football
wide receiver
in the NFL
for the Carolina Panthers
. In 2001, he was found guilty of conspiring to murder the woman who at the time was carrying his child and is serving a prison
sentence with an expected release date of 2018.
in Sacramento, California
, and played four seasons at the University of Colorado
. He was named a first-team All-America
in 1996. His college quarterback
s were future NFL quarterbacks Koy Detmer
and Kordell Stewart
. Carruth was a first-round draft pick, going 27th in the 1997 NFL Draft
to the Carolina Panthers. He signed a four year, $3.7 million deal.
He had a respectable rookie season, starting 14 games. Wearing uniform number 89, Carruth caught 44 passes for 545 yards. Carruth caught four touchdown passes, tied for first among rookie receivers. He was named to the all-rookie team at wide receiver.
Carruth broke his right foot in the opening game of 1998 and did not catch another pass that season due to the injury. He ended the year with four catches for 59 yards. Carruth played in the first six games of the 1999 season, totaling 14 catches for 200 yards.
, Cherica Adams, a woman Carruth had been dating, was shot four times by Van Brett Watkins, a night club manager and friend of Carruth. Surviving the shooting for a time, Adams called 911 and described Carruth's behavior: he had stopped his vehicle in front of hers as another vehicle drove alongside Adams and its passenger shot her. Carruth then drove from the scene.
Adams was eight months pregnant with Carruth's child at the time. Soon after her admission to the hospital, she fell into a coma. Doctors saved the child, Chancellor Lee Adams, in an emergency Caesarean section
, but Cherica Adams died a month later on Dec. 14.
Carruth went to the police and posted a $3 million bail, with the condition that if either Cherica or Chancellor died, he would turn himself in. After Cherica died, Carruth became a fugitive
. The Panthers released him a few days later, citing a morals clause
in his contract. He was captured after being found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel in Parkers Crossroads, Tennessee
. Also in the trunk was $3,900 cash, bottles to hold his body waste, extra clothes, candy bars, and a cell phone. Carruth was found guilty of conspiracy
to commit murder
, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child. He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. He was found not guilty of first-degree murder and was spared the death penalty. Carruth is serving a sentence of at least 18 years and 11 months at Nash Correctional Institution near Rocky Mount, North Carolina
. He has a projected release date of Oct. 22, 2018. The driver in the murder, Michael Kennedy, plead guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 11 years and eight monthshttp://law.jrank.org/pages/3853/Rae-Carruth-Trial-2000-01-Jury-Deliberates.html.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
. In 2001, he was found guilty of conspiring to murder the woman who at the time was carrying his child and is serving a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
sentence with an expected release date of 2018.
Biography
Carruth attended Valley High SchoolValley High School (Sacramento, California)
For schools of the same name, see Valley High SchoolValley High School is a 9th-12th grade college preparatory high school located in Sacramento County, California, near the city limits of Elk Grove, California and Sacramento, California. The school was established in 1977 as part of the Elk Grove...
in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, and played four seasons at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. He was named a first-team All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
in 1996. His college quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
s were future NFL quarterbacks Koy Detmer
Koy Detmer
Koy Dennis Detmer is a retired American football quarterback. He was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Colorado. He is the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Ty Detmer, and son of coach Sonny...
and Kordell Stewart
Kordell Stewart
Kordell Stewart, nicknamed "Slash" , is a former American NFL quarterback. Stewart attended the University of Colorado and was drafted 60th in the 1995 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers...
. Carruth was a first-round draft pick, going 27th in the 1997 NFL Draft
1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
to the Carolina Panthers. He signed a four year, $3.7 million deal.
He had a respectable rookie season, starting 14 games. Wearing uniform number 89, Carruth caught 44 passes for 545 yards. Carruth caught four touchdown passes, tied for first among rookie receivers. He was named to the all-rookie team at wide receiver.
Carruth broke his right foot in the opening game of 1998 and did not catch another pass that season due to the injury. He ended the year with four catches for 59 yards. Carruth played in the first six games of the 1999 season, totaling 14 catches for 200 yards.
Criminal history
On Nov. 16, 1999, near Carruth's home in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, Cherica Adams, a woman Carruth had been dating, was shot four times by Van Brett Watkins, a night club manager and friend of Carruth. Surviving the shooting for a time, Adams called 911 and described Carruth's behavior: he had stopped his vehicle in front of hers as another vehicle drove alongside Adams and its passenger shot her. Carruth then drove from the scene.
Adams was eight months pregnant with Carruth's child at the time. Soon after her admission to the hospital, she fell into a coma. Doctors saved the child, Chancellor Lee Adams, in an emergency Caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
, but Cherica Adams died a month later on Dec. 14.
Carruth went to the police and posted a $3 million bail, with the condition that if either Cherica or Chancellor died, he would turn himself in. After Cherica died, Carruth became a fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
. The Panthers released him a few days later, citing a morals clause
Morals clause
A morals clause is a provision within a instruments of the contract which curtail, or restrain, or proscribe certain behavior of individuals or party to the contract...
in his contract. He was captured after being found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel in Parkers Crossroads, Tennessee
Parkers Crossroads, Tennessee
Parkers Crossroads is a city in Henderson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 241 as of the 2000 census.-Geography:Parkers Crossroads is located at ....
. Also in the trunk was $3,900 cash, bottles to hold his body waste, extra clothes, candy bars, and a cell phone. Carruth was found guilty of conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to commit murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child. He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. He was found not guilty of first-degree murder and was spared the death penalty. Carruth is serving a sentence of at least 18 years and 11 months at Nash Correctional Institution near Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...
. He has a projected release date of Oct. 22, 2018. The driver in the murder, Michael Kennedy, plead guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 11 years and eight monthshttp://law.jrank.org/pages/3853/Rae-Carruth-Trial-2000-01-Jury-Deliberates.html.