Carruth's Mother Says He's Innocent

Jan. 22, 2001 -- The mother of convicted NFL player Rae Carruth said today she believes her son is innocent in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend.

A sentencing hearing is set for 11 a.m. today. Carruth could face as many as 20 years in prison.

"I still stand by my son. He is innocent," Theodry Carruth told ABCNEWS this morning. "He still maintains his innocence and where there's hope and prayer he'll continue to fight."

After deliberating for three days, a North Carolina jury acquitted Rae Carruth of first-degree murder on Friday, but found him guilty on three other charges, including discharging a firearm into occupied property, using an instrument to destroy an unborn child and of conspiracy to slay 24-year-old Cherica Adams in November 1999.

The acquittal on the murder charge means Carruth, 26, will avoid the possibility of the death penalty.

His attorneys say they will appeal, a move his mother supports because she believes at least three members of the jury made up their minds prematurely.

"I don't believe those 12 people in the jury were impartial," she said Carruth. "There was one who slept, one who looked out into space the whole time and another who nodded and slept. Those three had made their mind up already."

"I hope the judge takes into account his character, the charitable things he's done and that my son did not in fact try to kill his own baby," said his mother, who helped lead authorities to her son in December 1999 when he fled North Carolina.

"I turned him in to protect him," she said. "I would have turned him in again because it was the right thing to do and Rae knew it was the right thing to do."

Defense Sought to Discredit 911 Call

The jurors returned the unanimous verdict one day after telling the judge they were split on all four charges and were "at an impasse." They were ordered them back to the jury room on Thursday afternoon to deliberate further.

The jury debated whether Carruth was behind the plot to kill Adams, who was eight months pregnant when she was shot four times in the neck and chest while sitting in her car. Before lapsing into a coma, Adams called 911 and told authorities Carruth had been at the scene in a car in front of her. Adams died one month after the attack but her son, Chancellor Adams, was delivered prematurely the night of the shooting and is in the custody of Adams' mother.

Prosecutors maintained Carruth masterminded the plot to avoid paying Adams child support. Already the father of a son in California, Carruth had one year left on a four-year, $3.7 million contract with the Carolina Panthers and had suffered injuries that limited his playing time. The prosecution also contended Carruth had used his vehicle to block Adams' car the night of the shooting to set her up for the kill.

Defense attorneys argued Adams was a victim of a drug deal gone bad and that her 911 call was unreliable because Adams made the call in intense pain while suffering from severe bleeding.

Carruth and three others — including the admitted triggerman, Van Brett Watkins — were charged with first-degree murder in the incident.

Carruth, who was stoic during the reading of the verdicts, did not take the stand in his defense.

Triggerman’s Testimony Rocked Courtroom

The most explosive testimony in the trial came from Watkins, who confessed to authorities before the trial that he shot Adams. Called to the stand by Carruth's attorneys, Watkins said Carruth had hired him as a hit man and had, over a period of months, concocted various ways to kill Adams. Watkins insisted he shot in the direction of Adams' head so as to not hurt the unborn baby.

The defense originally believed Watkins would shore up its contention that Adams was killed as a result of a failed drug deal. Following Watkins' damning testimony, the defense portrayed the gunman as a lifelong criminal who was trying to escape justice.

In other compelling testimony, Carruth's ex-girlfriend, Amber Turner, testified for the prosecution that Carruth had threatened to kill her if she did not abort her second pregnancy by the football player. However, Turner's mother cast that testimony into doubt by testifying her daughter had never mentioned that particular pregnancy nor the alleged threat from Carruth.

Had a Once-Promising Football Career

Carruth was a standout at the University of Colorado, where he double-majored in education and English and earned academic All-Big 12 honors. His football career got off to a promising start but plummeted as he went from first-round draft pick to the first active NFL player ever charged with first-degree murder.

Picked 27th overall in 1997 NFL draft by Carolina, Carruth — whose legal name is Rae Lamar Wiggins — had an outstanding rookie season. He led all NFL rookies with 44 receptions for 545 yards that year, but injuries limited his playing time in the next two seasons.

Carruth had 14 receptions in five games before his 1999 season was cut short with a sprained ankle.

The Panthers released Carruth from their roster one day after he fled Charlotte to avoid arrest. He was found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel in Tennessee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.