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Put on notice Carruth told death penalty will be sought at trial
Posted: Wednesday January 12, 2000 10:37 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Prosecutors officially put former Carolina Panthers receiver Rae Carruth and his three co-defendants on notice they will be on trial for their lives for the fatal shooting of Carruth's pregnant girlfriend. Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Gentry Caudill filed petitions Tuesday notifying Carruth and the three other men that the murder charges against them "may be punishable by death." Previously, prosecutors had said in court they would seek the death penalty against the former University of Colorado football standout. Carruth, 25, and the three others are charged with murder conspiracy and intent to kill an unborn child in the slaying of Cherica Adams, 24, who gave birth to a premature boy, Chancellor, shortly after the Nov. 16 shooting. Adams died Dec. 14, while the infant steadily improved and has been released from a hospital. DNA tests showed Carruth to be the child's father. The petitions mean prosecutors believe there are aggravating factors in Adams' slaying. Prosecutors must have at least one aggravating factor before they can seek the death penalty. Caudill would not discuss the case Tuesday or disclose what aggravating factors prosecutors will rely on. Attorney David Rudolf, who represents Carruth, was not surprised by the petition. "It's standard operating procedure in Mecklenburg County for prosecutors who want to seek the death penalty," he said, "and they've previously indicated that's what they want to do." Carruth is accused of instigating a plot to kill Adams, shot four times as she drove in south Charlotte. An attorney for one of the co-defendants has said Carruth didn't want the baby. The other defendants are William Watkins, 44; Michael Eugene Kennedy, 24, and Stanley Drew Abraham, 19. A court document identified Watkins as the trigger man. Carruth was waived by the Panthers and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He is the first active NFL player to be charged with murder.
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