CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 24 years after Rae Carruth's plot to kill his own pregnant girlfriend unfolded in Charlotte, the triggerman involved has died in a North Carolina prison.
WCNC Charlotte reviewed digital records from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, which confirmed that Van Brett Watkins died on Dec. 3, 2023. He was 63 years old.
Watkins was sentenced to a 50-year prison term for his role in Carruth's plot to kill Cherica Adams in November 1999. Watkins shot Adams in her car as she drove away from Stonecrest Shopping Center. While Adams would eventually die of her injuries, her son Chancellor was born via emergency cesarean section.
Chancellor, now 24 years old, lives with significant disabilities tied to the shooting. He has been raised by his maternal grandmother, Saundra Adams, since his birth.
Carruth, who was a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers at the time, was eventually arrested in western Tennessee. He would be convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for hiring Watkins and Michael Kennedy, the driver of the car. Kennedy was released from prison in 2011.
Carruth was also released from prison in 2018, leaving the Carolinas for Pennsylvania. While he said he wanted a relationship with Chancellor Adams and custody, Saundra Adams vowed to fight to keep custody of her grandson.
Chancellor Adams was welcomed with open arms by the Panthers community a week after Carruth's release. In 2022, Chancellor walked the stage and graduated from high school.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: A look at the major players in the Rae Carruth case
Carruth was the first-ever active player in the NFL to be charged with first-degree murder. Kennedy was the first defendant in Mecklenburg County history to take the stand without a plea deal.
When WCNC Charlotte revisited the case in 2018 before Carruth's release, we learned Watkins had become a practicing Muslim and said he was remorseful for his role. Watkins was set for release in 2046. Had he lived, he would have been out of prison at 85 years old.