NFL Star had Pregnant Girlfriend Shot After Refusing Abortion

Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth once appeared poised for a long and successful NFL career. By 1997, he was a first-round draft pick, a celebrated talent from the University of Colorado, and a player the franchise viewed as a rising star.

Two years later, he was at the center of one of the most disturbing crimes in professional sports history.

According to prosecutors, Carruth conspired to have his pregnant girlfriend, 24-year-old Cherica Adams, murdered after she refused his requests to end her pregnancy. Adams was eight months along when she was shot four times while driving near Charlotte on November 16, 1999.

Despite her injuries, Adams managed to call 911. In her final recorded statements, she identified Carruth as the person who blocked her car moments before the shooting. Emergency personnel delivered her son, Chancellor Lee Adams, prematurely. He survived but suffered permanent brain damage and now lives with cerebral palsy.

Adams died on December 14, 1999.

Investigators alleged that Carruth hired nightclub manager Van Brett Watkins Sr. to carry out the attack. Watkins later testified that Carruth “did not want to take responsibility for a child,” describing the motive as rooted in fear and control.

“Cherica wanted to have that baby,” one witness told jurors. “She made that clear, and she would not change her mind.”

Following the shooting, Carruth fled North Carolina. Federal agents located him nearly a month later in the trunk of a car in rural Tennessee. The Panthers released him immediately, and he was later convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, among other charges. He served almost 19 years in prison before his release in 2018.

The case left a profound impact on the Charlotte community and on Adams’ family. Her mother, Saundra Adams, has since become the primary caregiver for Chancellor and a public advocate for forgiveness.

“I really don’t have hateful feelings toward Rae,” she told the Charlotte Observer. “Forgiveness is a choice. It allowed me to move forward and focus on raising my grandson.”

Carruth’s career, once marked by promise — including 545 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a rookie — ended the moment the investigation began. His story has since been chronicled in numerous documentaries and remains a defining example of how quickly fame can collapse into infamy.