Verdict Eluding Carruth Jury

The judge in the Rae Carruth murder trial Thursday ordered deadlocked jurors to continue deliberations.

Jurors had met for about 12 hours over three days when they informed Judge Charles Lamm before lunch that they were at an impasse on all four counts. They did not indicate the numerical split.

Carruth, a former Carolina Panther receiver, is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. He could be sentenced to death if convicted.

“I’m going to return you to the jury room and ask you to continue deliberating to see if you can make progress toward reaching a verdict,” said Lamm, who told the jury to keep a record of any vote they might take.

The jury of seven men and five women met for 2 1/2 hours after lunch before Lamm called a recess until 9:30 a.m. today.

A hung jury would prompt a retrial, prosecutors said. If found guilty, Carruth would become the first NFL player convicted of murder. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child, counts that carry sentences ranging from three months to 20 years.

“There is still a lot of deliberating [jurors] can do,” said David Rudolf, Carruth’s attorney. “I’m sure the judge is not going to allow them to stop.”