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

0:00 November 15, 1999. Shereka 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.

0:50 Shereka Ruth was born Ray Lamar Wiggins on January 20, 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 Incleats. His teammates saw a quiet, reserved guy. What they didn't see was the pattern in his personal life. Ray already had a six year old son in California, the child support payments were between 3,000 and 5,000 per month.

1:33 When you're pulling in over $50,000 a month before taxes, that might not sound devastating. But to Ray, it felt like his money and his freedom were being drained away. He decided that he was never going to let that happen again. Shereka Adams came into his life in 1998 at a summer pool party in Charlotte. She was 23, a former model and dancer who transitioned into real estate. Beautiful, driven, building a career in a competitive market. Her relationship with Ray was inconsistent. They were together, then they weren't, then they were again. In the spring of 1999, Shereka became pregnant. She was happy about it. Ray saw the complete destruction of the life that he'd built.

2:15 He wanted an abortion. He pushed hard for it. When Shereka refused, when she made it clear this baby was coming whether he liked it or not, something fundamentally shifted in how Ray Karuth thought about solving problems. He started asking around in the dark 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 trial, the judge ordered extra security between Watkins and the jury. Ray's first request was specific. Beat Shereka Adams badly enough that she loses the baby.

2:56 But that plan got complicated. At some point it became simpler and worse. Ray decided Shereka 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 Ray Karuth's answer to fatherhood. November 15, 1999 started completely normal. Ray took Shereka to a late night movie. They saw with the media later described as a serial killer film. After the movie, they drove to Ray's house so Shereka could pick up her black BMW.

3:38 As they prepared to leave, Ray made a phone call. Shereka heard him say it. We're leaving now. She didn't know that Michael Kennedy had just received the signal. Ray got into his white Ford expedition. Shereka followed in her BMW. They drove onto Ray Road, a quiet two-lane residential street. Ray was leading. Shereka stayed behind him. Then at a specific spot, Ray stopped his vehicle completely. Shereka had no choice but to stop behind him. The street was too narrow for her to go around. While Kennedy pulled the rental car alongside her driver's side window, Van Brett Watkins was in the back seat with a 357 charter arms revolver that Kennedy had purchased for $100.

4:23 Money that Ray had provided. Watkins fired five shots. Four bullets hit Shereka in her neck and back, collapsing her lung and severing her critical blood vessels. Ray Karuth, sitting in his Ford expedition, watched it happen in his rear-view mirror. Then he drove away. Shereka 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 that 12 minutes, Shereka 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 Ray's lawyer could build.

5:06 Ray Karuth, the football player. He identified him by name. She explained that he'd slowed down in front of her, that he'd stopped his car. She told him he was the father of her baby. This recording became a dying declaration. One of the few exceptions to hearsay rules. Defense attorney David Rudolph fought hard to exclude it. He failed. Paramedics rushed Shereka 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 Shereka's mother, Sandra, that Chancellor would likely never walk or talk.

5:50 Shereka held on for 28 more days. During those weeks, even though she couldn't speak, she communicated. When officer Peter Grant came in to her bedside and asked who shot her, she identified Ray. When Nurse Tracy Willard asked if she remembered the events, Shereka requested a pen and paper. She wrote that Ray insisted she follow him that night. She wrote that there was no legitimate reason for Ray to have stopped on that road. No traffic, no stop sign, nothing. On December 14, 1999, Shereka Adams died from multiple organ failure. She was 24 years old. Ray Caruth that posted a $3 million bail with a condition.

6:31 If Shereka died, he had to surrender immediately. Instead, he ran. On December 15, 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 the authorities, his own mother. The trial started in October 2000. Ray's defense team tried to sell a theory that this was a drug deal gone wrong. Watkins at shot Shereka in spontaneous rage. They brought in 45 character witnesses who testified that Ray was gentle and excited about being a father.

7:13 The prosecution brought three of Ray's ex-girlfriends to the stand. Candice Smith testified that after the shooting, Ray asked her, "I can't get in trouble though because I didn't shoot her," right? She revealed that he'd talked about getting someone to hit Shereka to cause a miscarriage. Michelle Wright, the mother of Ray's California son, testified about his rage over her pregnancy and his threats of violence. Amber Turner testified that Ray 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 Ray of first degree murder, which saved him from a possible death penalty.

7:54 But they convicted him of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument due to destroy an unborn child. He got 18 to 24 years. Van Brett Watkins, the trigger man, received 40 to 50 years. He died in prison December 2023. Michael Kennedy got 11 years and was released in 2011. Stanley Abraham received 90 days and probation. Chancellor Lee Adams, that baby who wasn't supposed to survive, he walks with a walker. He talks. He goes to school. His grandmother, Sandra, raised him with a Superman devotion. And she describes what Chancellor does as this "smile ministry" because of how he connects with people.

8:38 In 2017, an organization called Buffs for Life built Sandra and Chancellor a custom accessible home. Sandra has publicly stated that she's forgiven Ray 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 Ray shows genuine repentance, she's left the door open for some relationship. Ray Karuth was released on October 22, 2018. Right before, he released a 15-page letter that apologized but also attacked Sandra, accusing her of spreading lies. He's reportedly changed his name, gotten married, and moved to the southwestern United States.

9:19 As of 2025, there's been no reunion with Chancellor, no relationship. Ray maintains complete silence about the murder of Shereka Adams. The story of Ray Karuth 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. Shereka 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. [Music] Thanks for listening to 10-minute murder.

10:11 Bingeable True Crime Stories. I'm Joe, I'm the host, and here's an email subject cleaning soundtrack. Hey, Joe. Your podcast has become my default, clean the apartment, and pretend I have my life together, soundtrack. There's something weirdly grounding about hearing a contained, well-told story while I deal with my own little chaos. Figured you'd appreciate that image. Tom in Bellingham, Washington. Tom I do. And I also appreciate the email and thanks for listening. But just know that while I'm doing this podcast, I'm procrastinating cleaning up my own house. Oftentimes when I'm like, "Man, I need to be productive today." I'll come to my studio and do an episode.

10:51 When honestly I should probably be doing the dishes. Hey, if you're new to this podcast, welcome. Let me roll out the red carpet for you. I know you can't see the carpet, but it's there. Trust me. And then hit subscribe wherever you're listening right now. You can go to 10minutemurder.com. Follow the podcast on social media. I haven't mentioned that in a while. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, those in the main places that I'm active on social media. You can search in the search bar of those apps or go to my website and there'll be links there. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you really enjoy it. You're an OG listener. You'd consider yourself that. Make sure you're sharing the show with your friends and your family and rating and reviewing it any place that's possible.

11:34 And that's going to do it. That's your episode for today. Thank you again for listening to 10minute Murder. See you next time. [Music]