New Charlotte (banks and a big city) and Old Charlotte (antebellum mansions and the Old South) make up what is known as Charlotte, N.C. today. I suspect people who had passed away 50 years ago would be shocked at seeing the Charlotte skyline today. It has become quite a metropolitan area.
When we learn of its history, we see how recent acquisitions, like pro sports teams, really Charlotte "on the map." It's also the "Broadway of New York" with lots of great theater available. An interesting trivia fact brought out on the show: this was the first "gold rush city" in America. The gold might have been gone in a hurry but the city has evolved into a place where banking is its biggest employer.
Back to sports, though, is where we go with the crime story related to Charlotte. It involves a young Panther football player who shocked the area, as well as the USA sports community at large, by being charged with a conspiracy to murder someone. Rae Carruth turned out to be a "Jeckyll and Hyde," a soft-spoken, mild-mannered guy on the outside but the opposite on the inside.
This athlete, a good wide receiver who also starred at the U. of Colorado, did not want to pay child support for two children. He was already paying for one from several years ago and when he got current girlfriend Cheruka Adams pregnant, he wasn't happy. Oh, he pretended he was off-and-on but, in the end, decided to hire a thug and have the attractive real estate woman murdered.
A '911' call by the critically-injured Adams, along with written comments made from the emergency room of the hospital, wound up making it a pretty easy conviction for Carruth, who got sentenced to 18 years. The murder got 40 years. The fact that Carruth tried to run and hide before his arrest, didn't matters, either.
Meanwhile, it is noted the people of Charlotte learned a hard lesson not to go overboard idolizing pro athletes. You'd think they would have learned from O.J.Simpson.
When we learn of its history, we see how recent acquisitions, like pro sports teams, really Charlotte "on the map." It's also the "Broadway of New York" with lots of great theater available. An interesting trivia fact brought out on the show: this was the first "gold rush city" in America. The gold might have been gone in a hurry but the city has evolved into a place where banking is its biggest employer.
Back to sports, though, is where we go with the crime story related to Charlotte. It involves a young Panther football player who shocked the area, as well as the USA sports community at large, by being charged with a conspiracy to murder someone. Rae Carruth turned out to be a "Jeckyll and Hyde," a soft-spoken, mild-mannered guy on the outside but the opposite on the inside.
This athlete, a good wide receiver who also starred at the U. of Colorado, did not want to pay child support for two children. He was already paying for one from several years ago and when he got current girlfriend Cheruka Adams pregnant, he wasn't happy. Oh, he pretended he was off-and-on but, in the end, decided to hire a thug and have the attractive real estate woman murdered.
A '911' call by the critically-injured Adams, along with written comments made from the emergency room of the hospital, wound up making it a pretty easy conviction for Carruth, who got sentenced to 18 years. The murder got 40 years. The fact that Carruth tried to run and hide before his arrest, didn't matters, either.
Meanwhile, it is noted the people of Charlotte learned a hard lesson not to go overboard idolizing pro athletes. You'd think they would have learned from O.J.Simpson.