‘Modern day Bonnie and Clyde’: Pair accused in SC crime spree tied to St. Louis murders

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A pair accused in a crime spree in South Carolina has been tied to two murders in the St. Louis area, KMOV reported.

Investigators said 27-year-old Tyler Terry and 34-year-old Adrienne Simpson are connected to two murders and two shootings in South Carolina and two murders and an attempted murder in Missouri that all took place earlier this month.

Information about the pair’s alleged crimes came to the surface after authorities said Terry fired shots at Chester County deputies while Simpson led them on a high-speed chase Monday night.

Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey said that around 11 p.m., deputies approached a suspicious 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage in the parking lot a the Bojangles -- which was closed -- at Edgeland Road and Highway 9 in the town of Richburg. The driver, Simpson and her passenger, Terry, took off and refused to stop, leading deputies on a high-speed chase, Dorsey said.

During the chase, which reached speeds of more than 100 mph, Terry fired several shots at deputies, hitting at least two law enforcement vehicles, according to the sheriff. No deputies were seriously hurt during the exchange of gunfire, SLED officials said.

The pursuit, which Dorsey said spanned more than 20 miles, traveled along Highway 9 into Chester and from Highway 72 into York County. The driver then turned onto Highway 901 and led police back to Chester County before crashing on Highway 9 between Sloan Road and Lewisville High School.

Simpson was arrested at the scene but Terry, who authorities said was armed, ran into the woods and is still on the loose.

Investigators said the pair has been tied to four killings and multiple shootings spanning from South Carolina to St. Louis.

Here’s a timeline of the crimes:

• May 2: Terry allegedly kills 35-year-old Thomas Hardin on Lowry Row in York County. He is also a suspect in two other shootings that also occurred at Erlich Street in Chester and at Taco Bell on JA Cochran Bypass on the same day. Police say Simpson drove the vehicle during the crimes.
• May 15, between 8-9 p.m.: The pair allegedly drives to St. Louis. Once there, they steal a license plate from a truck parked in the driveway of a St. Louis County home and put it on their car.
• May 15, 10:50 p.m.: Terry and Simpson allegedly shoot Stanley and Barbara Goodkin in a St. Louis suburb. Barbara was fatally shot in the head, Stanley was shot in the chest, but his cell phone stopped the bullet.
• May 15, shortly before midnight: Terry and Simpson reportedly shoot and kill Dr. Sergei Zacharev outside a Drury Inn while he is waiting for an Uber.
• May 16: Terry and Simpson allegedly travel to north St. Louis to purchase drugs before returning to South Carolina.
• May 17, 11 p.m.: Chester County deputies say they try to stop Terry and Simpson’s vehicle -- the same one connected to the St. Louis murders. The suspects reportedly lead them on a high-speed chase while firing shots at deputies. The chase ends in a crash and Simpson is arrested, but Terry ran into nearby woods. He has been on the run since then, and despite several sightings, he remains at large.
• May 19: The body of Simpson’s husband -- Eugene -- is found in Great Falls, South Carolina. He had been missing since May 2.
• May 21: Investigators charge Terry and Simpson for Eugene’s murder.

Joseph Spiess, Jr., chief of the police department in Brentwood -- a city right outside St. Louis -- said there were no connections between either of the victims or the suspects.

“We cannot find a tie to either one of these people to St. Louis. From now what it appears, this modern day version of Bonnie and Clyde do several violent crime in South Carolina then travel across the country,”Spiess, Jr., said of the suspects. “What they did between South Carolina and Missouri, we do not know.”

According to Spiess, the murders were motivated by robbery.

“This is a very isolated series of events. It’s not like we have sociopaths -- psychopaths -- running around, shooting people, doing robberies everyday,” Spiess Jr. said. “It is certainly scary but it is a very isolated event.”

Detectives from the St. Louis area traveled to South Carolina on Thursday to meet with detectives as they continue to piece together their timeline. They also planned to interview Simpson, who is in jail.

“Perhaps the most difficult homicide cases to solve are when the victim and suspects don’t know each other and you have suspects who are not from your area,” Spiess Jr. said of the detectives working the cases. “These are two ingredients that make it extremely difficult to solve. But they have.”

There have been several confirmed sightings of Terry, but he is still on the run. New video of Terry was released Thursday showing him getting into a utility vehicle wearing a blue button up Burns Auto shirt with the name David on it. He was also wearing black pants and brown or camouflage Crocs on. Authorities previously reported that Terry was wearing all black clothes and no shoes.

A cash reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for any information that leads to Terry’s arrest. Click here to leave an anonymous tip or call 888-CRIME-SC.

*KMOV contributed to this article

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