CHARLOTTE -- Rae Carruth's 6-week-old son was released to the mother of the girlfriend the former Carolina Panthers receiver is charged with conspiring to kill.
Chancellor Lee Adams was released Friday to Cherica Adams' mother, Saundra, who has temporary legal custody of him, Carolinas Medical Center spokesman Scott White said.Cherica Adams was Carruth's girlfriend and pregnant when fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting Nov. 16. Carruth and three other men are charged in her slaying.
DNA tests released Thursday confirmed Carruth is the baby's father. A judge ordered Carruth's assets frozen, except $35,000 he can use to help pay for lawyers.
The baby was delivered 10 weeks prematurely after Adams was shot. She died Dec. 14.
Carruth's mother, Theodry Carruth, said she and Adams' mother visited the baby for the first time late Thursday.
"I think there was a common bond in that room -- that baby," Theodry Carruth said. "Being able to stand in that room with them and pray made all the difference in the world."
While prosecutors haven't said why they think Adams was killed, Saundra Adams said Carruth initially wanted Cherica to have an abortion when he learned she was pregnant.
Prosecutors said Carruth instigated a murder plot and they plan to seek the death penalty.
Carruth, 25, the Panthers' first-round draft choice in 1997, earned about $38,000 per game until he was waived by the team earlier this month and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Carruth is the first active player to be charged with murder.