Imprisoned accomplice in shooting of then-NFL player’s girlfriend dies

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A man who had spent two decades in prison for firing the shots in a plot by then-Carolina Panthers player Rae Carruth to kill Carruth’s pregnant girlfriend has died. North Carolina correction records show Van Brett Watkins died earlier this month at age 63. A state official says Watkins died at a hospital from natural causes. Watkins received more than 50 years in prison for his role in Carruth’s effort to kill Cherica Adams in 1999. Adams later died, and her baby was born. Carruth was a Panthers wide receiver who was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and other charges. He was released from prison in 2018.