The man behind Rae Carruth’s trigger: ‘It’s not over yet’

The trial of the Carolina Panthers wide receiver was nationally televised — and focused on the relationship between Carruth and Van Brett Watkins

Sensational courtroom cases have long seized public attention, and Charlotte’s halls of justice are no exception. This week, in a special series only for Ledger members, The Charlotte Ledger examines spectacular trials that captivated local audiences.

In 1999, police accused a Carolina Panthers star of hiring a hitman to kill his pregnant girlfriend; ‘For me to kill somebody, I don’t need a gun,’ shooter says

By Lindsey Banks

Van Brett Watkins appeared irritated as he sat in the witness box of a Charlotte courtroom on Dec. 21, 2000. Defense attorney David Rudolf had just asked him if he was taking antipsychotic medication in jail.  

“I’m taking medication to combat with the nightmare I’m having over this situation,” Watkins said. “Every night, I go to bed, I hear them four shots. I hear her scream.”

Watkins took a plea deal for second-degree murder, so his testimony in North Carolina v. Carruth was his one chance to tell his side in front of the jury deciding former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth’s fate. 

Before the public knew his name, co-defendant Watkins was the triggerman who conspired with Carruth to kill Cherica Adams, Carruth’s pregnant girlfriend, in 1999. 

Van Brett Watkins, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, tells the jury that Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth hired him to kill Carruth’s girlfriend on Rea Road in south Charlotte. (Court TV image)

Watkins openly admitted to it in excruciating detail. Although the exact details of the crime are still fuzzy, Watkins stays true to one thing in every recount: Adams’ death is Carruth’s doing.  

The murder trial gripped the city of Charlotte — and the nation — for over a year. The trial was broadcast on Court TV, and reporters filled the courtroom. Carruth’s trial came just five years after the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, the former NFL player accused of killing his ex-wife and wife’s friend, and many began questioning the connection between professional athletics and violence. Carruth was the Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 1997.

Watkins, who was 39 at the time of the murder, testified in Carruth’s trial and accused Carruth of hiring him. He expressed remorse toward the end of his testimony. He even apologized to Adams’ parents during his own sentencing. 

But in a 2014 interview for A&E’s “The Killer Speaks” docu-reality series, the only emotion he’s wearing on his prison uniform sleeve seems to be fueled by revenge.