Accomplice of Rae Carruth, Hitman Van Brett Watkins, Dies in Prison

Van Brett Watkins, the man who fired the shots in a plot orchestrated by former Carolina Panthers player Rae Carruth to kill Carruth's pregnant girlfriend, has died at the age of 63. Watkins had spent two decades in prison and died from natural causes at a hospital. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, conspiracy, and other charges. Watkins and another man were paid by Carruth to carry out the crime, resulting in the death of Cherica Adams and the birth of her disabled son. Carruth was acquitted of first-degree murder but convicted of conspiracy and served 18 to 24 years in prison before being released in 2018.