In the second edition of homicide brides, Rae Carruth’s story will be explored – another instance when true crime meets the gridiron.
In the first edition of Homicide Brides, Rae Carruth’s homicidal ways were briefly mentioned. Rae was another Carolina Panther around the same time that was in the same prison that Fred Lane’s homicidal wife was held in.
Rae Carruth’s Murder Plot
In one of the more diabolical murder-for-hire in recent history, Rae Carruth took the life of his then girlfriend, Cherica Adams. Rae was released from prison in 2018 in what most feel like a surprisingly short sentence… A theme in this series so far.
Cherica Adams’ life
Cherica is often the less emphasized part of this story as she is the casualty of an infamous football player, his reputation shadowing her life. Not in this article.
Cherica was born in 1975 at Kings Mountain, NC, to her mother, Saundra Adams and father, Jeff Moonie. Jeff and Saundra didn’t stay together long, and Saundra was 17 years old raising her daughter. Cherica has one half-sibling.
The story of Cherica’s birth is a memorable one – Saundra was in labor one day; her father, a lifelong farmer, thought labor would go on for a while and stayed out in the field working. He finished his job and put his farming supplies away, returning to his frantic daughter. Cherica was ready to come.
Saundra didn’t want to give birth to the baby in the family’s “good car,” so she held Cherica in with her fingers; Cherica even had a permanent bald spot on the crown of her head to show for it. Saundra waited long enough to get to the hospital and had the baby before a doctor could come.
Instead of ostracizing her, Saundra’s parents helped raise Cherica. Saundra was able to graduate high school on time, a reality rare for single mothers in NC at the time. The Adams’ were a proud family who emphasized their bloodline and passing it down – Saundra’s dad would take Cherica for tractor rides on the family land, talking about the children she would grow up to have.
College was in the cards for Saundra; her parents insisted upon it. Saundra got her Bachelors’ degree in Psychology, visiting Cherica every weekend and taking over full custody of her child once she was financially stable.
Cherica was always described as confident and outgoing. She had her friend’s backs and would help them in any way she could. She always knew what she wanted – children and what she didn’t want – college. Cherica would become a real estate agent, model, actress, and exotic dancer.
Rae and Cherica would meet on a fateful day in the Summer of 1998 at a pool party. Cherica felt such a connection with Rae that she introduced him to her father, whom she reconnected with in her teenage years, the same day. They casually saw each other off and on, dating other people. Rae and Cherica would meet again in the winter of 1998 when Rae attended a birthday party at the club Cherica worked at. They kicked off their relationship again.
Rae bought Cherica a cell phone, a big deal in 1998. Not much later, she was pregnant. Cherica wanted to make it work with Rae – she saw a white picket fence with a future husband and their first child of many. Rae wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. Cherica wasn’t willing – she had had an abortion previously and didn’t want a second.
Throughout her pregnancy, Cherica seemingly came to terms with being a single mother – but at the same time, Rae was sending mixed messages like attending Lamaze classes with her. Cherica also wanted to give the baby the Carruth name, much to her mother’s chagrin. Saundra said Cherica loved motherhood already – she would read to her baby in her belly and play the fetus classical music like Bach and Beethoven.
Rae Carruth’s life
Life began for Rae in 1974 in Sacramento, CA, to mother Theodry Swift and father Charles Wiggins. He was raised with a sibling primarily by his mother and stepfather Samuel Carruth. Rae was born RaeLamar Theotis-Wiggins, but he chose to become a Carruth and stay one even when his parents divorced.
Rae grew up in a challenging environment full of drug abuse and crime. Carruth never touched a substance or got into trouble with the police. Rae was a sort of success story of his neighborhood Oak Park when he received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Colorado as a Sophomore. He was an interesting character – he was a popular guy, coronated as prom-king twice. At the same time, he was described as quiet, reserved, held a grudge, and un-trusting. Carruth didn’t need to say much – his incredible speed on the field said it all.
Rae lived with his grandmother off and on throughout his teenage years – he had a rough relationship with his mom. It doesn’t come as a huge surprise – she responded to a dip in his grades by having him come to work with her at Costco, collecting carts in the summer heat. It may be insensitive, but it did help.
Carruth never really relaxed – he showed up to his recruiting trip at the University of CO in a suit with a briefcase, notebook, and pre-planned questions. He was highly goal-oriented – he always attended class and didn’t have an affinity for college parties. He was recorded as saying he decided he wanted to be famous – does infamous count, Rae?
Surprisingly, Rae Carruth had an affinity with his child fans during college. One example was when he met a child after a game, signed an autograph, and attended his birthday party the following week after the child told him his birthday party was coming up and Carruth was his favorite player.
In the 1997 draft, Rae was the 27th overall pick. Carruth’s mother was excited – she just knew he would find a nice young southern lady to marry in North Carolina. He could have had one, too.
Rae Carruth started as a rookie due to his talent, beating out several veterans to win that title. He was on the NFL’s all-rookie team that year too. Much like his personality in high school, he was known as quiet, a loner, and would get made fun of on team outings for never drinking.
It all went downhill after 1997. Rae Carruth’s career was disrupted by injury for most of 1998 and some of 1999. His reputation with his teammates was decreasing, and he wasn’t willing to take on new tasks. He refused to be a punt returner; he didn’t like the physical aspect. Rae was a bit high maintenance as well: he changed his jersey number five times – he thought the number 1 made him look fat, and he didn’t want the number of any famous former players.
In the sea of dichotomies that is Rae Carruth, he was viewed by many as a player juggling multiple girlfriends at once; others described his as a charismatic guy who had many friends of both genders. First impressions often were good. Rae was perceived as easy-going, personable, and social.
While Rae’s football career was falling apart, tensions were rising off the field as well. Carruth impregnated his high school sweetheart, Michelle Wright while he was in college. He wanted the baby to be named after him, and Michelle honored that wish, even though he wasn’t even present at the birth. Wright had full-custody, and Carruth barely saw his son.
Michelle sued Rae for child support, and the two agreed in court to $3,000 a month, a lower amount than the court had initially suggested. Child support was on Rae Carruth’s mind for another reason, too – he had impregnated another girl, Amber Turner. Carruth would allegedly joke with Turner that he would kill his first child to save money and threatened to kill her if she didn’t terminate the pregnancy.
Allegedly, Rae’s concern was primarily financial. His career was in limbo, and he was already paying for one kid. He made a few bad investments, generously lent money to his family for lavish things, bought expensive rims for his cars, and so now he was worried about his long-term financial health. Imagine if he was that worried about preventing pregnancies.
The night of the crime and more
Rae Carruth was frustrated – allegedly, he had tried to have Cherica killed three times, and she was still alive. He banked on the fourth time, being the charm. On the 15th of November 1999, Rae invited Cherica to watch a movie with him. She drove to his home in her vehicle and nearly backed out – many strange men were walking around, and peculiar business transactions were happening out front. Her mother told her to leave, but Carruth convinced her to stay.
At midnight the following day, the soon-to-be young parents left the theatre and returned to Carruth’s home. In a strange turn of events, Rae wanted to return home with Cherica, driving in two separate vehicles. It was so surprising that Cherica called and asked her roommate to clean up the apartment – it was untidy that day.
Rae Carruth led the way to Adams’ apartment. She followed closely behind him, and unbeknownst to her behind her were hit men “Little man,” “New York,” and another accomplice. The trio of cars drove until they were in a secluded area on a two-lane road when Rae suddenly stopped his car. Cherica slammed on her brakes. The car with the hitmen inside went into the opposing lane of traffic and stopped just to the left of Ms. Adams.
Five rounds were shot into the vehicle’s roof area – her hitman couldn’t bear to hit the baby with a bullet, so he aimed for her upper body. It worked to some extent – Cherica was shot four times, one an inch or two away from the baby. Once bullets flew, Rae drove off to play video games with his friend.
Despite slowly bleeding out, Ms. Adams was on a 12-minute phone call with the police while they attempted to find her – she let them know first that she was pregnant and, secondly, that Carruth had done this to her. Cherica even could drive down the street onto the lawn of a residential home, honking her horn, hoping that people would hear her and the EMS would find her – they had driven past her once.
Cherica was rushed to the hospital and immediately went under the knife to get the bullets and the baby out. Doctors fought to keep the baby alive, but hope was low since the fetus had been without oxygen to the brain for 70 minutes – Adams’s blood wasn’t going to the baby due to her other wounds.
Chancellor Lee Adams was born premature and blue that morning via c-section. When asked whether Chancellor would be a Carruth or an Adams, Cherica was adamant about having the latter. Baby Chancellor had sustained severe brain cell death due to the lack of oxygen and was born with Cerebral Palsy.
Carruth came with another of his girlfriends to visit the baby, not choosing to speak to Saundra or ask about how Cherica was doing. He took a picture of the baby to show off, claiming he looked just like him as a baby. Ms. Adams would survive for a month, eventually succumbing to her wounds in December 1999.
Rae Carruth was arrested by police and was released on a $3 million bond, promising that if either Cherica or Chancellor died, he would turn himself in. As a man of honor, Rae had proven himself to be, he fled when Adams died. The panthers finally released him due to his “fugitive status.”
The FBI found him in the trunk of another woman’s car in TN with money, clothes, chocolate bars, and bottles to pee in. His mother had outed him. But his sinister behavior does not end here.
Rae had the nerve to ask for full custody of Chancellor from prison. With an expensive power team of attorneys, Carruth awarded visits where he could see his son through the glass while Rae’s mother held him. He didn’t ask for the $400,000 in medical bills that Ms. Saundra was now saddled with, raising her special needs grandson alone at age 42.
Rae Carruth’s trial
You may recognize David Rudolph from Netflix’s “Staircase” series’, the famous NC lawyer who defended Michael Peterson. He also was Rae Carruth’s lawyer. His charges were: 1st-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using a gun to attempt to kill an unborn child.
The prosecution used the victim’s words, the hitman’s testimony, and financial motives to explain Rae’s action. The defense suggested that Carruth had declined a drug deal, and the angry dealers had retaliated by hurting Ms. Adams. They argued Rae Carruth didn’t need money because he was making good money – David Rudolph, meet Deidra Lane; she can explain greed to you like no one else (allegedly).
Rae was guilty of three charges; he was not found guilty of 1st-degree murder. In result, Rae was sentenced to no less than 18 years and 11 months and no more than 24 years and four months.
For all of the legal deets surrounding the court case, look here.
Needless to say, Rae Carruth did not get custody of his son, and ultimately his mother was not allowed custody either. Rae and all three men in the hitman car were found guilty in civil court in a wrongful death lawsuit. $5.8 million was awarded to Saundra Adams.
Due to the men being in prison, Saundra has seen very little financial compensation she was awarded. The men, noticeably beside Rae, apologized. “New York,” the man who shot Ms. Saundra’s daughter, has regularly sent her checks for $5 and $10 when he receives commissary money from family, and let her know he has declined book deals, so he does not profit off the death of her daughter. Ms. Saundra believes he is genuinely remorseful. In contrast, Rae said he doesn’t feel guilty about Cherica’s murder or his son’s health problems at all.
Where is Rae Carruth now?
Dead. Just kidding… although “New York” allegedly has plans to make sure that that happens. The hitman said he plans on hiring another hitman.
Carruth moved to Pennsylvania with a friend to make a “fresh start” once he was released in October 2018. He wrote a lovely letter in 2018 explaining his “innocence” once again and making it clear that Cherica was a booty call, and she knew it. Charming.
Rae Carruth has sent money to Saundra once since his release for a few thousand dollars to go towards the millions she is owed (even though the judgment had expired). She says she has already forgiven him and everyone involved but sees the money as a sign that his heart is changing.
Rae works from home and mostly stays to himself, and he is a practicing Muslim after a prison conversion. He speaks with his son with Michelle Wright daily and wants custody of Chancellor. Grandma Saundra said absolutely not – she won’t let a stranger who tried to kill her grandson, raise him without first repenting.
Chancellor Lee is the only bright spot in this story, besides Ms. Saundra’s unrelenting love and forgiveness. He graduated from high school in 2020, and has his father’s athletic streak with some of his own skills on the gridiron when he plays flag football with like-skilled peers. Saundra has hope and confidence in Chancellor’s continued ability to thrive – and so do we. Congrats Chancellor! Your mother’s beauty and grace shine through your loving heart.
