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Ray Carruth indicted on attempting to kill unborn son

Posted: Tuesday January 04, 2000 09:02 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A grand jury on
Tuesday invoked an anti-abortion law Tuesday
in indicting former NFL player Rae Carruth
and three others on a charge of trying to kill
the unborn child of Carruth's girlfriend, whom
the four also are accused of conspiring to kill.

Carruth and the other three suspects also were
indicted by the Mecklenburg County grand jury
on murder and conspiracy charges, which they
already face in Cherica Adams' slaying. But
no charges previously were filed regarding her
son, born 10 weeks prematurely but steadily
improving.

Officials said the indictment will enable
prosecutors to skip a probable cause hearing
scheduled for Monday.

Adams, 24, was shot four times in a drive-by shooting Nov. 16 as she drove
through south Charlotte. Prosecutors said Carruth may have been driving a
vehicle ahead of Adams, when a vehicle pulled alongside her and someone
opened fire.

Shortly after the shooting, Adams gave birth to Chancellor Adams. Cherica
Adams died Dec. 14.

Carruth is accused of masterminding Adams' slaying, and he and
codefendants William Watkins, 44; Michael Kennedy, 24; and Stanley
Abraham Jr., 19, all are being held without bond.

Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty against the four.

Besides charging all the defendants with murder, conspiracy and intent to kill
an unborn child, the indictment charges Kennedy and Watkins with
discharging a firearm into occupied property.

The grand jury invoked a state statute intended to punish unlawful abortions
in its new charge against the four. That statute says it is illegal to use drugs
or "any instrument" with the intent of destroying an unborn child after the
first 20 weeks of a mother's pregnancy, unless the pregnancy must be
terminated to spare the mother's life.

David Rudolph, a Chapel Hill lawyer representing Carruth, said he had never
before had to defend a client against the charge.

"I didn't have any conversation with the DA ahead of time. Obviously we
have no control over what indictments are pursued," he said.

Carruth, 25, drafted by the Carolina Panthers out of Colorado in 1997,
earned about $38,000 per game until he was waived by the team earlier this
month and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He is the first active NFL
player to be charged with murder.

At a hearing last week, DNA test results established Carruth as Chancellor
Adams' father.

The child's grandmother, Saundra Adams, has temporary custody of the
child. The boy was discharged from the hospital Friday.

At the hearing, the judge ordered Carruth's assets frozen with the exception
of $35,000 he can use to help pay for his criminal defense attorneys.