Rae Carruth released after nearly 19 years of being in prison

Last Updated on October 24, 2018 at 1:21 am

Monday was the day that a former Panther was able to relive his freedom again after being behind bars for almost two decades.

Rae Carruth was a promising young wide receiver that was the first round draft pick of the 1997 NFL draft for the Carolina Panthers.  After only playing in the NFL for three years, Carruth was wanted for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill, Cherica Adams, who was eight months pregnant at the time with his child.  

After the hit, Adams is heard on her 911 call for help that she believes the father of her child was behind the shooting.  Carruth allegedly had a history of threatening other women of his past that were having his children.  Threatening them to have an abortion or he would find means to kill them both, the woman and the child. 

Amber Turner, a former girlfriend of Carruth testified in 2001 during his murder trial.  ABC News reported during the trial that Turner revealed that Carruth was furious when she told him that she was pregnant, threatening her, and insisting that she have an abortion.  

Turner shared how Carruth joked about having his eldest child and mother of that child killed, and he was also worried about paying out too much in child support to all of his children.

After much discussion Turner later went through with an abortion.

The child of Cherica Adams was able to be saved, he is now 19-years-old and suffers from permanent brain and cerebral palsy.  His name is Chancellor Lee Adams, and he has been under the care of his maternal grandmother since birth.