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Rae Carruth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rae Carruth | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 20, 1974 |
| Place of birth |  Sacramento, California |
| Position(s) | Wide Receiver |
| College | Colorado |
| NFL Draft | 1997 / Round 1 / Pick 27 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1997-1999 | Carolina Panthers |
Rae Lamar Carruth (born January 20, 1974) is a former football player (wide receiver) for the Carolina Panthers. In 2001, he was found guilty of conspiring to murder his girlfriend and is currently serving a prison sentence.
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Originally from Sacramento, California, Carruth [nicknamed "Da Troof"] played four seasons at the University of Colorado. He was named a first-team All-American in 1996. His college quarterbacks were future NFL quarterbacks Koy Detmer and Kordell Stewart. Carruth was a first-round draft pick (27th overall pick) in 1997 to the Carolina Panthers, signing a four year, $3.7 million deal.
He proceeded to have a respectable rookie season, starting 14 games. Wearing uniform number 84, Carruth was on the receiving end of 44 passes for 545 yards (12.4 yards/catch), both of which led all rookie receivers. Carruth also caught four touchdown passes, tied for first among rookie receivers. He also rushed six times for 19 yards (3.8 yards/attempt). He was named to the all-rookie team at wide receiver, along with Reidel Anthony of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Big things were expected of Carruth for the 1998 season. However, he broke his right foot in the opening game and did not catch another pass that season due to the injury. He ended the year with four catches for 59 yards (14.8 yards/catch). Carruth played in the first six games of the 1999 season, totaling 14 catches for 200 yards (14.3 yards/catch).
On November 16, 1999, near Carruth's home in Charlotte, North Carolina, Cherica Adams, a woman Carruth had been dating, was shot four times in a drive-by shooting. Surviving the shooting for a time, Adams called 9-1-1 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.[1]
Adams was eight months pregnant with Carruth's child. Soon after her admission to the hospital, Adams fell into a coma.[1] Doctors saved her son, Chancellor Lee Adams, in an emergency Caesarean section, but Cherica Adams died a month later on December 14. Born prematurely and in distress, Chancellor has cerebral palsy.
Carruth turned himself in and posted $3 million bond under the condition that if either Cherica or Chancellor died, he would turn himself in.[1] However, after Adams died, Carruth became a fugitive. He was eventually 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 in cash, bottles to hold Carruth's urine, candy bars, and a cell phone.
At trial Rae Carruth was defended by David Rudolf and 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. However, Carruth was found not guilty of first-degree murder and was spared the death penalty. Carruth is now serving a sentence of at least 18 years and 11 months at Nash Correctional Institution near Raleigh, North Carolina.
A Law & Order television episode was based on the events surrounding the Carruth trial. In this fictional retelling, the plot centers on a basketball player instead of a football star.