Following Rae Carruth's bail hearing last week, James Exum, an attorney representing one of Carruth's co-defendants, stepped outside the courthouse for a brief conversation with reporters, during which he all but fingered the Carolina wide receiver as the prime mover in a plot to kill his pregnant girlfriend and their the nun-born son.
"The motive would be very obvious," said Exum. "It might not make any sense, but it's obvious."
It might be obvious to the learned counsel, but it isn't to me. Say what you will about OJ Simpson, at least the motive in that case was obvious. But give Exum this much. He's right. It doesn't make any sense at all. I mean this thing is just plain bizzaro, straight out of Greek mythology. Either Carruth was, as police charge, the father of the baby boy delivered by Caesarean section following the attempted murder, or he wasn't. Does either circumstance strike you as an "obvious" motive for double homicide? In any case, Carruth made bail this week. You can expect the NFL Players Association to demand the Panthers reinstate him to their payroll.
Carruth is a 25-year-old wide receiver out of Colorado who was the Panthers' first-round draft choice two years ago. The team lavished a $3.7 million contract on him, and was rewarded when he led all rookie NFL receivers, catching 44 passes for 545 yards that fall. Hampered by foot and ankle injuries, he had played in just five games by mid-November, but continued to draw his $38,382-a-week paycheque.
On November 16th, Carruth's pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams was cut down in a hail of bullets, the victim of an apparent drive-by shooting as she drove through a quiet Charlotte residential neighbourhood.
Teammates rallied around the grief-stricken Carruth as he stood vigil over his intended and their infant son, who was delivered 10 weeks prematurely following emergency surgery.
Nine days later, on Thanksgiving Day, the Panthers were just wrapping up their final scrimmage for that weekend's game against the Atlanta Falcons when team security director Gene Brown interrupted the session to inform coach George Seifert that Carruth had been charged with having been a participant in the crime. At the conclusion of the workout, Seifert told the team of Carruth's arrest.
"In my heart I wanted to believe he wasn't involved," said quarterback Steve Beuerlein. "He's a teammate. He's part of our family."
"I'm certainly disappointed," said Seifert. "I think all of us all along were concerned about the young lady and the baby and certainly with Rae being involved in this. We were hoping that it wouldn't come down to this." "Our prayers continue to be with the mother and son and for their recovery. We respect the investigative process that is taking place and will continue to follow it closely," echoed Panthers' owner Jerry Richardson. The Carolina players got down on their knees and prayed together right on the practice field that day. At the moment they were doing so, Rae Carruth was being fitted out for his new uniform - the orange jumpsuit worn by inmates of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg jail. He was charged with "conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, attempted murder and shooting in an occupied vehicle." Bail was initially set at $1.5 million and then, when it appeared there was a chance Carruth might make that figure, doubled to $3 million the following day.
Unsurprisingly, Carruth's arrest was preceded by that of one of the alleged shooters, 44-year-old William Watkins, who became most loquacious indeed once in custody. Within a matter of days two others, 24-year-old Michael Kennedy and 19-year-old Stanley Abraham, were also arrested.
Carruth, who had been excused by the Panthers from all team activities since the shooting, was initially placed on a paid leave of absence while the team tried to figure out what to do, but once it became apparent that he was unlikely to make bail, the Panthers pointed out he was unable to fulfil the terms of his contract and cut off his paycheques. "Rae obviously has a lot of concerns to address," explained Seifert in justifying the move. "We are not making a judgment on the case, but the situation makes it impossible for Rae to fulfil his contractual obligations." At Carruth's bail hearing, prosecutor Gentry Claudill identified the player as the "mastermind" behind the plot to murder his girlfriend and unborn son. "Your Honor, we're a heartbeat away from a double murder in this case," Claudill told the court. "And the defendant before you today, Rae Carruth, was the instigator of this murder." Exum, who represents Kennedy, did not argue with this premise. Following the hearing he told reporters that while Carruth was not the actual gunman, the player had "probably the highest involvement possible without pulling the trigger." Some mastermind. First of all, whatever this "obvious" motive turns out to be, it doesn't appear to be anything a young millionaire might not have better settled in the time-honoured fashion, which is to say, with his chequebook.
Secondly, if what the cops are saying is true, this half-witted football player would appear to have engaged the services of The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight for this daring mission. And third of all, didn't he realise that this collection of local yokels were bound to sing out loud the moment the cops started squeezing them - and that if they didn't rat him out, their lawyers would?
The decision to suspend Carruth without pay was taken following consultation with both NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFLPA president Gene Upshaw. The situation became enormously complicated by an unforseen development this week. Carruth posted the $3 million bond Tuesday and walked out of jail. In theory, at least, he is now available to play football.
Cherica Adams has been ungraded from serious to fair condition. The baby - he has yet to be given a name - has been removed from the intensive care unit and placed in a neonatal nursery. And as they struggle along with a 5-7 record the Panthers are wondering, no doubt, if and when they will be ordered to start issuing Carruth's paycheques again.
