Filed under: Football
It's probably one of the worst off-the-field sports stories in history. Rae Carruth, a former University of Colorado star and Carolina Panther wide receiver, was on his way to becoming one of the NFL's elite. Having a solid rookie season in 1997, he was hurt for most of his second season. When he returned the following season, the Panthers expected him to be a top performer. And he was until Nov. 16, 1999, when his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams, was shot four times in a drive-by. According to Adams, who survived for a month after the shooting, Carruth pulled his vehicle in front of her vehicle near his home in Charlotte, N.C., blocking her path. Another vehicle pulled up beside her and the passenger fired shots in to her car. Both Carruth and the other vehicle fled from the scene.
Adams was eight months pregnant at the time and was able to deliver the baby by C-section. Chancellor Lee Adams is now 11 years old and being raised by Cherica's family. Adams died on December 14, 1999, from her gunshot wounds. Once Adams died, Carruth went on the run but was found a few days later in a car trunk in Parkers Crossroads, Tenn., with cash, clothes, a cell phone, candy bars and bottles to hold his urine.
Adams was eight months pregnant at the time and was able to deliver the baby by C-section. Chancellor Lee Adams is now 11 years old and being raised by Cherica's family. Adams died on December 14, 1999, from her gunshot wounds. Once Adams died, Carruth went on the run but was found a few days later in a car trunk in Parkers Crossroads, Tenn., with cash, clothes, a cell phone, candy bars and bottles to hold his urine.
He was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting in to an occupied vehicle and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child and was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison in 2001.
Carruth has maintained his innocence during his entire bid, though, and is now seeking a new trial according to the Associated Press.
Carruth and his attorneys argue that the statements Adams made to paramedics, nurses and police, saying that Carruth was responsible for shooting her, should not have been used in the 2001 trial because Adams couldn't be cross-examined. A three-judge panel heard the arguments this week but a ruling won't come down for a couple of months. Carruth, now 36, is scheduled to be released in 2018.