Rae Carruth

Nov 21, 2000 News about Rae Carruth. Commentary and archival information about Rae Carruth from The New York Times.

In 1999, they tried to kill Chancellor Lee Adams before he was born. They conspired to commit murder – to shoot and kill his mother. That way the unborn baby’s life would end, too, and his father wouldn’t have to pay any child support. It was a horrific crime that altered Chancellor’s life forever and exposed us all to the dark side of professional sports. And yet here is the son of former Carolina Panther first-round draft pick Rae Carruth.

He is smiling, holding onto his grandmother’s arm and walking slowly toward the horse named “Raider” that he rides every week. Chancellor turned 16 Monday. He already had his “Sweet 16” party.

He got to have a magician and his favorite dessert – yellow cake, with strawberry mousse in the middle and whipped cream icing. The boy they could not kill goes to high school in Charlotte now. Chancellor is 5-foot-4, about 7 inches shorter than his father. The two bear a stunning facial resemblance. But Chancellor has a dimple in his chin just like his mom and he also inherited her peaceful nature, Saundra Adams says. Carruth – still in prison for hiring the hit man who killed Chancellor’s mother, Cherica Adams – is 41 years old. He works as a prison barber and makes a dollar a day.

As a fleet, Carruth used to make almost $40,000 per game. Carruth, a native of Sacramento, Calif., is scheduled to get out of jail on Oct. It may surprise you that Saundra Adams hopes Rae will be a part of his son’s life after that, although Rae and Chancellor haven’t seen each other in 15 years. Chancellor has special needs.

Owing to his traumatic birth, he has cerebral palsy. Loss of blood and oxygen the night of his birth caused him permanent brain damage. When he was born, he looked blue. But the boy who wasn’t supposed to talk can communicate a little with people who don’t know him and a lot with people who do. The boy who wasn’t supposed to walk mostly uses a walker to get around now instead of a wheelchair, and he navigates steps without help. “He’s able to feed himself some,” Adams says.

“He’s able to dress himself with minimal assistance. And the biggest thing is he’s able to walk.” Beside him, every step of the way, has been Adams.

She has devoted the past 16 years mostly to taking care of her grandson, ever since she took him home from the hospital on New Year’s Eve 1999 – less than three weeks after Cherica Adams died in the hospital. It is just the two of them now, living together in a home in Charlotte that is filled with pictures of Cherica, whom Chancellor calls “Mommy Angel.” “I’ve never treated Chancellor like he’s disabled,” says Saundra Adams. “I treat him like he’s ‘abled’ differently.”. While in prison, Carruth has been cited for four infractions but none since 2004. Besides his usual work as a prison barber, he has occasionally worked as a janitor. Three of the four men sentenced for the crime have apologized publicly to Adams.

Carruth never did. The murder case remains one of the most notorious in Charlotte history. The Panthers had already become very popular in Charlotte but were only playing their fifth season when Cherica Adams was murdered. In 1997, they drafted Carruth to become one of their future stars.

But by 1999, Carruth had developed a reputation for being an injury-prone brooder in the locker room. He tried out five different uniform numbers. Although he was slim, he told me once in an interview he was convinced that he looked fat unless his number contained a “1.” Cherica Adams’ mellifluous first name was created by her mother. “Cherica” was a combination of the entertainer “Cher” and a purposeful misspelling of the last two syllables of the brand name of Saundra’s vaccum cleaner – Eureka.

A West Charlotte high school graduate, Cherica worked at a mortgage company and enjoyed socializing. She had an off-and-on relationship with Carruth for months after meeting him at a pool party in Charlotte. When Cherica got pregnant, Saundra Adams says, Carruth wanted her to have an abortion. 16, 1999, Carruth and Cherica went on a date but drove in separate cars to see a movie about a serial killer called “The Bone Collector.” After the movie, she was following his car on Rea Road in southeast Charlotte when Carruth suddenly came to a halt. She stopped behind him.

Esky Simulator Download Software. Another car pulled up alongside her. Watkins shot five times into the BMW that Cherica was driving.

Four of the bullets hit Cherica in the drive-by shooting. None of the bullets hit Chancellor, but her blood was his blood. As blood poured from her wounds, he began to suffocate. Somehow, Cherica found her phone and found the strength to make a haunting, gasping call to 911. She described the shooting, enabled Chancellor’s rescue by describing where she was and implicated Carruth. The recording was later played in court.

Part of her conversation with the 911 dispatcher went like this. Cherica: “I was following my baby’s daddy, Rae Carruth, the football player.” Dispatcher: “So you think he did it?” Cherica: “He slowed down and a car pulled up beside me.” Dispatcher: “And then shot at you?” Cherica: “Yes.” Dispatcher: “.

And then, where’d he go?” Cherica: “He just left. I think he did it.

I don’t know what to think.” The power of forgiveness Chancellor was born later that night, 10 weeks early, by emergency Caesarean section. Bosch Wtl 5200 Manual Woodworkers there. Carruth was arrested on Thanksgiving Day. He would later panic and try to jump bail after Cherica died. But the FBI found him 500 miles away, hiding in the trunk of another woman’s car at a Best Western motel in Tennessee.

The trunk also contained $3,900 in cash and two bottles full of Carruth’s urine. The ensuing trial was broadcast live nationally on Court TV. Carruth – whose true name is Rae Wiggins – is now imprisoned in Columbia, N.C., in the state’s eastern corner. He unsuccessfully appealed his sentence numerous times. Carruth has never publicly admitted any involvement in the crime. He did not testify at his trial, and he declined to be interviewed for this story.

Related Headlines • Carruth, whose real name is Rae Wiggins, was convicted in the 1999 murder of Cherica Adams. Adams was eight months pregnant with his child. He was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but he is scheduled to be released in 2018. Carruth, 41, had been at the Harnett Correctional Institution, a medium custody facility in Lillington, North Carolina. On Tuesday, he was moved to the Tyrell Prison Work Farm, a minimum custody facility in Columbia, North Carolina, near the Albemarle Sound.

The lower-security facility offers dormitory-style housing and additional privileges and freedoms. Carruth currently works as a prison barber, making $1 per day. He could choose to work on a road crew and he could eventually qualify for a work-release program outside the facility. There are three levels of minimum custody: • Minimum Custody Level 1 - Inmates may work on the grounds or away from the prison facility as long as a correctional officer or agent is with them. • Minimum Custody Level 2 - Inmates may work on the grounds or away from the prison facility with an assigned supervisor from another government agency.

They may be eligible for short-term community passes with a trained volunteer who is certified to work with inmates. • Minimum Custody Level 3 - Inmates may be away from the prison facility for specific programs such as work release, home leave, jobs, school or other kinds of training. Inmates are not supervised by correctional staff during these activities. Carruth is currently at Level 1 of minimum custody. Over time, with good behavior, he could work his way up to Level 3, which could allow him to work outside the prison facility, without any supervision whatsoever. Carruth's son Chancellor raised by grandmother After Cherica Adams was shot, her son Chancellor was delivered by emergency C-section. She died a month later.

Her mother Saundra Adams is raising Chancellor, who was born with cerebral palsy. • Several weeks ago, the two visited Channel 9 to tape a segment for the special. • Click to watch raw video of Saundra Adams Channel 9 saw firsthand just how well Chancellor is doing. • “Raising Chancellor is truly a blessing to me.

I had no idea that I would be thrust into this role, but Chancellor has done more than just survive, he has definitely thrived,” Saundra Adams said. Chancellor is now a freshman in high school and turns 16 next month.

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