Asheville -- Death Threat        On October 4, 1994, at the Western Carolina Medical Clinic abortion mill, a pro-abortionist pointed a gun at sidewalk counselor Jo Ann Ellington and threatened her with it.        Operation Rescue National, Violence and Disruption Report, December 20, 1994. Asheville -- Vandalism (12 incidents)        Twelve times in 1994, pro-abortionists vandalized a memorial to aborted preborn babies. Twice it was dragged from the ground with chains attached to a vehicle.        Operation Rescue National, Violence and Disruption Report, December 20, 1994. back to top Burlington -- First-Degree Murder        Jerry Lynn Stuart and his live-in girlfriend, 20-year-old April Renee Greer, were expecting a baby. In fact, April was eight and a half months pregnant, and just days away from delivering her child. But Stuart did not want the child.        So he solved his problem by beating April to death, chopping up her body, and stuffing the pieces of her and her near-term preborn baby into a trash can sealed with duct tape.        On March 17, 2003, police found April's remains when the trash can she had been stuffed into washed into a farmer's field from nearby Back Creek after a heavy rainstorm. She had last been seen on February 21.        Burlington police Major Randy Jones said that a class ring from Southern Alamance High School inscribed with Greer's name, along with a scar on her left knee, a metal plate in her left ankle and a near-term preborn child helped the state medical examiner's office identify the body.        Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County said it appeared that the body had been in the container for more than a month.        Stuart was charged with first-degree murder in the case.        Associated Press. "Boyfriend Arrested in Alamance Dismembered Body Case." ABC Eyewitness News 11 [Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, North Carolina], April 23, 2003; "Boyfriend of Pregnant Woman, Found Dead in Trash Can, is Charged in Case." The Winston-Salem Journal, April 24, 2003; Bryan Robinson. "Why Pregnant Women Become Murder Victims." ABCNEWS.com, April 25, 2003. Downloaded from http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Primetime/pregnant_murder030425.html on June 11, 2003. back to top Charlotte -- Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder (2 counts)        Rae Carruth, who played for the National Football League's Carolina Panthers, and 24-year-old Cherica Adams were expecting a child. Adams was eight months pregnant. According to prosecutor Gentry Caudill, "He wanted her to have an abortion, but she was adamant in her refusal. She wanted to have that baby."        He hired a hit man to shoot Adams in her car in 1999. He and his three accomplices laid a trap, and Carruth helped close it by blocking Adams' car so another man could pull alongside and shoot her. Prosecutors played a recording of Adams' cell phone call for help. In it, she told the 911 operator that Carruth "was in the car in front of me and he slowed down and someone pulled up beside me and did this." The final 8 minutes of the 12-minute recording were filled with sounds of Adams moaning in pain, complaining she was cold. Carruth covered his face with his hands several times as the recording played.        Nicole Michaels, a paramedic who was the first to reach Adams, testified that a police officer asked the victim if she knew who shot her. Adams answered, "Rae, my baby's daddy." Before she died, Adams gave statements and wrote notes, saying that Carruth blocked her car, then left the scene.        The preborn baby survived after being delivered by emergency Caesarean section. Adams died a month later. The baby was named Chancellor and was born with cerebral palsy.        Former girlfriend Candace Smith testified that "He said, "I can't get in trouble, can I, because I didn't actually pull the trigger? He said police could check his car and his clothes and not find any gunpowder."        Smith told jurors that the former NFL receiver also told her that he paid men involved in the shooting over time to avoid raising suspicions and that he "saw the guys pull up and shoot into her car." He then drove away to the house of Hannibal Navies, a Carolina Panthers teammate, she said.        Co-defendant Michael Kennedy, who drove the shooter's car, stuck to his story that Carruth hatched a plan to kill Adams to avoid paying child support. Carruth already was paying another woman about $5,000 a month, Kennedy said.        Carruth's trial for murder started on November 14, 2000.        Two other men were also charged with murder: Michael Eugene Kennedy, 25, accused of driving the car from which the shots were fired, and Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham, a passenger in the car. They were tried separately.        Carruth was sentenced in February 2001 to at least 18 years and 11 months and a maximum of 24 years and four months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument with the intent to destroy an unborn child. He was acquitted of first-degree murder.        On March 6, 2001, Michael Kennedy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Carruth's pregnant girlfriend, and Superior Court Judge Charles Lamm, who also presided over Carruth's trial, sentenced him to a minimum of 11 years, eight months in prison and a maximum of 14 years, two months for the slaying of Cherica Adams.        The confessed triggerman, Van Brett Watkins, was sentenced to at least 40 years in prison in a plea agreement after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He told jurors Carruth paid him $2,000. Michael Eugene Kennedy, who drove the attack car, is serving at least 11 years and eight months in prison. Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham, who was also in the attack car, spent 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to several charges.        In October of 2003, a judge granted Cherica's mother Saundra Adams $5.8 million for the death of Cherica and Chance's future medical care. Chance was born following the shooting, though he will suffer from cerebral palsy the rest of his life and will require medical care and other extra attention.        Compensatory damages total $1.4 million for all four men responsible for the shooting. Carruth and gunman Van Brett Watkins are also responsible for more than $4.3 million in punitive damages.        "Football Star Wanted Girlfriend Killed Because She Wouldn't Get Abortion." Associated Press; November 20, 2000; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, November 21, 2000; "Football Player May Have Confessed in Shooting of Pregnant Wife." Pro-Life Infonet, November 30, 2000; Associated Press, November 29, 2000; Jenna Fryer. "Co-Defendant Says Carruth Asked Him to Find Gun, Car." Associated Press, November 21, 2000; "Carruth May Take Stand, Teammate Testifies." Associated Press; December 12, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, December 13, 2000; "Triggerman: Carruth Planned Slaying of Pregnant Girlfriend." Associated Press; December 20, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, December 21, 2000; "Question Looms in Rae Carruth Trial." Associated Press, January 2, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 3, 2001; "Rae Carruth Doesn't Take Stand in Trail." Associated Press, January 3, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 4, 2001; "Ex-Lover Testifies Against Carruth, Taxpayers Foot His Defense Bill." Associated Press, January 6, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, January 7, 2001; "Carruth Defense Lawyers Call More Witnesses." Associated Press, January 8, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, January 9, 2001; "Testimony Ends With a Twist in Carruth Trial." Associated Press, January 9, 2000; Pro-Life Infonet, January 10, 2001; "Defense Wraps Up in Carruth Murder Case." Associated Press, January 15, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 16, 2001; "Carruth Murder Trial Case Goes to the Jury." Associated Press, January 16, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 17, 2001; "Jurors Discuss Carruth Murder Trial Case." Associated Press, January 17, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 18, 2001; "Carruth Jury Deadlocked on Verdict Decision." Associated Press, January 18, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 19, 2001; "Carruth Acquitted of Murder Charge, Faces Short Prison Term." Associated Press, January 20, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 20, 2001; "Carruth Awaits Sentencing After Jury Verdict." Associated Press, January 21, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 22, 2001 (#1); "Rae Carruth Sentenced to 18 Years." Associated Press, January 22, 2001; Pro-Life Infonet, January 22, 2001 (#2); Paul Nowell. "Carruth Co-Defendant Sentenced to Almost 12 Years Behind Bars." Associated Press, March 7, 2001; "Carruth Sued for Wrongful Death Following Pregnancy-Murder Case." Pro-Life Infonet, December 18, 2001; "Judge Awards Compensation in Rae Carruth Unborn Victims Case." Steven Ertelt's LifeNews.com, October 16, 2003. Charlotte -- Botched Abortions (9 incidents), Unprofessional Conduct (20 incidents), and Illegal Dumping of Medical Waste        Abortionist Harold R. Hoke gruesomely botched several abortions and was investigated for dumping the bodies of preborn babies and other "medical waste" at the Colwick Towers dumpster in the Summer of 1992. Hoke claimed his Hallmark Clinic sent such material out through a disposal firm, but the firm's records showed no materials received from Hoke for 2 months. "On August 12 and August 22, a Charlotte Observer reporter saw a considerable amount of fetal tissue removed from the dumpster adjacent to the clinic. The remains, deposited in 10 to 15 large plastic trash bags, included readily identifiable body parts. Among them were a left forearm and hand, a left leg and foot, a right forearm and hand, part of a right foot, and a spinal column and rib cage. In several cases the remains had been dumped in trash bags along with ordinary garbage: coffee grounds, cigarette butts and remnants of chicken dinners." Hoke is quoted as responding, "I don't care what you saw. If you saw a little green monster there, somebody else put it there." Such dumping was in violation of state law requiring certain packaging and incineration of such materials.        Hoke's privileges were denied at one hospital in early 1970s, and rescinded at another in 1983. The second hospital alleged he was unqualified. In 1974 the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners brought 20 charges of "dishonorable and unprofessional conduct" against Hoke, alleging negligent handling of abortions, performing abortions without adequate pregnancy tests, knowingly performing abortions on non-pregnant women, false representations in his brochure describing Hallmark Clinic, soliciting false accusations against other doctors with whom he had disputes, and mental condition rendering him unfit to practice medicine. Two additional charges the board noted later that year alleged unnecessary surgery and a misdemeanor charge in Georgia.        Charlotte Observer, September 2, 1992; Gaston County Superior Court File #74CVS5135; Mecklenburg County Superior Court Files #73CVS3081, #82CVS406 and #84CVS8994; Charlotte District Court Case #CC7501; Cumberland County Superior Court File #84CVS1681; Union County Superior Court Case #84CV0148; United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division C.C. #85-551-M; United States District Court, South Carolina, Greenville Division C.A. #83-1585-14; and Bartow County Superior Court Civil Action File #10529. Charlotte -- Theft        The members of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Charlotte erected 44 three-foot by four-foot crosses on their church lawn, representing the number of babies killed by abortion in the United States every quarter hour. Over the weekend of January 12, 2002, pro-abortionists stole all of the crosses.        Church member Diane Hoefling said that "[The display] was disturbing, but it's supposed to be. The purpose was to get people to think." The annual display, which has been erected seven years running, is called the Cemetery of Innocents.        Frustrated that pro-abortionists want to restrict "free speech" rights to themselves, the church replaced the crosses five days later. Several people, including members of a Baptist Church, offered to help replace the pro-life display.        Melissa Manware. "Anti-Abortion Display Stolen Off Church Lawn." Charlotte Observer, January 15, 2002; Steve Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org, January 16, 2002; "Carpenter Replaces Crosses on Church Lawn." Charlotte Observer, January 18, 2002. back to top Greensboro -- First-Degree Murder        Tanika Rachelle Fox was pregnant by her boyfriend Shawn Kristopher Holliman. She wanted to keep her baby. He did not want to be a father. So, on December 14, 1999, he shot her dead.        Guilford County District Attorney Stuart Albright said Holliman shot Fox twice in the head because she was pregnant and refused to get an abortion. Holliman, 21, who once held jobs at a fast-food restaurant and a mattress store, stood trial in June of 2001 and was convicted of first-degree murder.        Albright said during the May 22, 2001 hearing in Guilford County Superior Court, "(Holliman) already had two children. "He was getting ready to have a third and couldn't afford it. She didn't have an abortion, so he killed her."        "It's tough," said Dudley High School resource officer Jonathan Heard, choking back tears as he described Fox as a member of his family. "The viciousness of the crime is still right here with our kids," the Greensboro police officer said. "It was heinous."        "It was shocking to hear about it," said Mae Hayes, 45, who used to baby-sit Fox. Hayes recalled how Fox loved playing with babies and would sing to herself after walking home from church, Hayes said. "Everybody liked her," she said.        In 2000, the students at her high school dedicated their yearbook in her name.        "Friends, Family Remember Slain Teen Who Refused Abortion." Greensboro News & Record, June 11, 2001; Steven Ertelt's Pro-Life Infonet at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/infonet.html, June 13, 2001; State of North Carolina v. Shawn Kristopher Holliman, Appeal of December 31, 2002, heard in the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Case number COA02-133. back to top Raleigh -- Fatal Botched Abortion and Malpractice (2 incidents)        Abortionist Clarence J. Washington killed Mary Ann Dancy, the mother of five by lacerating her cervix during an abortion at the Fleming Center. She went home that evening, her condition worsened, and she died that night after emergency surgery at Halifax Memorial Hospital. News articles claimed that he botched at least two other abortions.        Raleigh News & Observer, July 29, 1992 and July 21, 1993. Raleigh -- Fraud and Income Tax Evasion        Abortionist William E. Brenner, a member of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) Standards Committee, was charged with overstating fetal age in order to charge more for abortions at his Triangle Women's Health Center abortion mill. After Brenner was sentenced to 4 months in federal prison for tax evasion, his son told reporter Brenner "was vacationing in the Bahamas before going to prison," and that "his father hoped to continue practicing while incarcerated." News articles said that Brenner allegedly "avoided paying thousands of dollars in taxes by diverting income to foreign corporations and bank accounts," and that "he wrote off several personal items as business assets."        Raleigh News & Observer, August 29, 1992. back to top Return To State By State Documentation © 2003 Abortion Violence