From First-Round Pick to Murder Conspiracy: The Fall of Rae Carruth

November 15th, 1999. Cherica Adams goes to see a serial killer movie with her boyfriend, an NFL wide receiver. Hours later, she's making a 12-minute 911 call, bleeding out in her BMW, naming the man who orchestrated her murder. This is the story of a woman who refused to let her killer escape, and the son born from tragedy who proved every doctor wrong.

From NFL Draft Pick to Murder Conspiracy

Rae Carruth was born Rae Lamar Wiggins on January 20th, 1974, in Sacramento. By the time he was 23, the Carolina Panthers selected him as the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft. His contract was worth $3.7 million over four years. He was making roughly $650,000 annually. Wide receiver for an NFL team. The American dream in cleats.

His teammates saw a quiet, reserved guy. What they didn't see was the pattern in his personal life. Rae already had a six-year-old son in California. The child support payments were between $3,000 and $5,000 per month. When you're pulling in over $50,000 a month before taxes, that might not sound devastating. But to Rae, it felt like his money and freedom were being drained away. He'd decided that was never going to happen again.

Cherica Adams: The Woman Who Refused to Disappear

Cherica Adams came into his life in 1998 at a summer pool party in Charlotte. She was 23, a former model and dancer who'd transitioned into real estate. Beautiful, driven, building a career in a competitive market. Her relationship with Rae was inconsistent. They were together, then they weren't, then they were again.

In the spring of 1999, Cherica became pregnant. She was happy about it. Rae saw the complete destruction of the life he'd built. He wanted an abortion. He pushed hard for it. When Cherica refused, when she made it clear this baby was coming whether he liked it or not, something fundamentally shifted in how Rae Carruth thought about solving problems.

Recruiting Killers: The Murder-for-Hire Plot

He started asking around in the darker corners of Charlotte. He found Van Brett Watkins, who at 40 years old had spent most of his adult life cycling through the criminal justice system. Watkins managed a nightclub, but his real resume was violence. His criminal record was so extensive that during the trial, the judge ordered extra security between Watkins and the jury. Rae's first request was specific: beat Cherica Adams badly enough that she loses the baby.

But that plan got complicated. At some point, it became simpler and worse. Rae decided Cherica needed to die.

He brought in Michael Kennedy, a drug dealer who knew Charlotte and could handle logistics. Kennedy would drive and get the weapon. Then there was Stanley Abraham, only 19 years old, who would ride along in the passenger seat. These three men became Rae Carruth's answer to fatherhood.

The Rea Road Ambush: A Movie Date Turned Deadly

November 15th, 1999, started completely normal. Rae took Cherica to a late-night movie. They saw what the media later described as a serial killer film. After the movie, they drove to Rae's house so Cherica could pick up her black BMW.

As they prepared to leave, Rae made a phone call. Cherica heard him say it: "We're leaving now." She didn't know that Michael Kennedy had just received the signal.

Rae got into his white Ford Expedition. Cherica followed in her BMW. They drove onto Rea Road, a quiet two-lane residential street. Rae was leading. Cherica stayed behind him.

Then, at a specific spot, Rae stopped his vehicle completely. Cherica had no choice but to stop behind him. The street was too narrow to go around.

Michael Kennedy pulled the rental car alongside her driver's side window. Van Brett Watkins was in the backseat with a .357 caliber Charter Arms revolver that Kennedy had purchased for $100. Money that Rae had provided.

Watkins fired five shots. Four bullets hit Cherica in her neck and back, collapsing her lung and severing critical blood vessels. Rae Carruth, sitting in his Ford Expedition, watched it happen in his rearview mirror. Then he drove away.

The 12-Minute 911 Call That Became Legal History

But Cherica Adams refused to die quietly.

At 12:31 in the morning, bleeding and struggling to breathe, she grabbed her cell phone. She dialed 911. That call lasted 12 minutes. During those 12 minutes, Cherica was drowning in her own blood. Her lung had collapsed. She was gasping and gurgling. But she stayed on that line, and she said the words that would destroy every defense Rae's lawyers would build.

"Rae Carruth, the football player."

She identified him by name. She explained that he'd slowed down in front of her, that he'd stopped his car. She told them he was the father of her baby. This recording became a dying declaration, one of the few exceptions to hearsay rules. Defense attorney David Rudolf fought hard to exclude it. He failed.

Chancellor Lee Adams: Born Into Tragedy

Paramedics rushed Cherica to the hospital where doctors performed an emergency cesarean section. Her son, Chancellor Lee Adams, was born 10 weeks premature. He'd been without adequate oxygen for about 70 minutes. The brain damage was immediate and severe. Doctors told Cherica's mother, Saundra Adams, that Chancellor would likely never walk or talk.

Cherica held on for 28 more days. During those weeks, even though she couldn't speak, she communicated. When Officer Peter Grant came to her bedside and asked who shot her, she identified Rae. When Nurse Traci Willard asked if she remembered the events, Cherica requested a pen and paper. She wrote that Rae insisted she follow him that night. She wrote that there was no legitimate reason for Rae to have stopped on Rea Road. No traffic. No stop sign. Nothing.

On December 14th, 1999, Cherica Adams died from multiple organ failure. She was 24 years old.

The Trunk of a Toyota Camry: A Pathetic Escape

Rae had posted $3 million bail with a condition: if Cherica died, he had to surrender immediately. Instead, he ran. The FBI tracked him to West Tennessee. On December 15th, they found him hiding in the trunk of a Toyota Camry in a motel parking lot. When they opened that trunk, they found bottles filled with his own urine, $3,900 in cash, extra clothes, candy bars, and a cell phone.

The person who tipped off authorities? His own mother, Theodry Carruth.

The Trial: Three Ex-Girlfriends Destroy the Defense

The trial started in October 2000. Rae's defense team tried to sell a theory that this was a drug deal gone wrong, that Watkins had shot Cherica in spontaneous rage. They brought 45 character witnesses who testified that Rae was gentle and excited about becoming a father.

Then the prosecution brought three of Rae's ex-girlfriends to the stand.

Candace Smith testified that after the shooting, Rae asked her, "I can't get in trouble though 'cause I didn't shoot her, right?" She revealed he'd talked about getting someone to "hit" Cherica to cause a miscarriage. Michelle Wright, the mother of Rae's California son, testified about his rage over her pregnancy and his threats of violence. Amber Turner testified that Rae had threatened her life, leading her to terminate her pregnancy.

Three different women. The same pattern. The same threats.

In January 2001, the jury acquitted Rae of first-degree murder, which saved him from a possible death penalty. But they convicted him of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child. He got 18 to 24 years.

Van Brett Watkins, the triggerman, received 40 to 50 years. He died in prison in December 2023. Michael Kennedy got 11 years and was released in 2011. Stanley Abraham received 90 days and probation.

Chancellor's Miracle: Defying Every Medical Prediction

Chancellor Lee Adams, that baby who wasn't supposed to survive? He walks with a walker. He talks. He goes to school. His grandmother, Saundra Adams, raised him with superhuman devotion, and she describes what Chancellor does as his "smile ministry" because of how he connects with people.

In 2017, an organization called Buffs4Life built Saundra and Chancellor a custom accessible home. Saundra has publicly stated she's forgiven Rae and the other men involved. She's been clear that forgiveness doesn't equal custody. Chancellor will never be raised by a stranger who tried to kill him. But if Rae shows genuine repentance, she's left the door open for some relationship.

Rae was released on October 22nd, 2018. Right before, he released a 15-page letter that apologized but also attacked Saundra, accusing her of spreading lies. He signed it with "# Sunglasses Ms. Adams."

He's reportedly changed his name, gotten married, and moved to the southwestern United States. As of 2025, there's been no reunion with Chancellor. No relationship. Rae maintains complete silence about the murder of Cherica Adams.

The story of Rae Carruth isn't about football. It's about a man who decided his bank account mattered more than a human life, and a woman who used her final breaths to make sure her son would be protected and her killer would be caught. Cherica Adams turned a 12-minute phone call and handwritten notes into justice. And Chancellor Lee Adams became living proof that the human spirit can survive the impossible.