SC manhunt suspect and woman in jail also sought in Missouri double murders, police say
The two people linked to a chase and manhunt this week in Chester County, S.C., also are suspects in two killings that happened Saturday night in Missouri, police said.
Joseph Speiss Jr., police chief in Brentwood, Mo., described the suspects, Tyler Donnet Terry and Adrienne Simpson, as “a modern day Bonnie and Clyde,” in a Missouri news conference Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, officials in South Carolina have a dead body found Wednesday in Chester County. They also have a fatal shooting, plus two people with gunshot wounds from May 2. Terry has been charged in connection with the shootings. The body found Wednesday is the husband of Simpson.
It’s still unclear how all of this is connected.
Simpson was arrested Tuesday morning after a police chase through parts of Chester and York counties. Terry is accused of shooting at three Chester County Sheriff’s deputies at some point in the chase.
Terry is charged with attempted murder related to Tuesday’s chase and murder from a city of York killing on May 2. He also is charged with attempted murder for two shootings in Chester May 2.
Terry remains uncaught. The manhunt started Tuesday, has spread across York and Chester counties, and continues.
Officials say the death of Simpson’s husband is being investigated as a homicide, but no charges have been filed.
Missouri connection
Speiss and Chief Larry Hampton of the University City, Mo., police department said during Thursday’s news conference that Simpson and Terry are suspects in the killings of Dr. Sergie Zacharev in Brentwood and Barbara Goodkin in University City.
Speiss said there is no known reason that Terry and Simpson were in Missouri, but surveillance video from the Missouri killings showed the same vehicle as the one in the Chester chase. Both Missouri killings were robberies that turned into murders, Speiss said at the news conference.
Police in Missouri referenced the Chester cases and manhunt, and South Carolina police mugshots of both suspects.
Two people can be seen on surveillance videos stealing a license plate and in a purported drug transaction, and at a Missouri motel on Sunday, Missouri police said.
Missouri police are sending seven investigators to Chester County to assist in the overall investigation and work the St. Louis County killings, Speiss and Hampton said.
Grant Suskin, spokesman for the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed South Carolina police are working with Missouri detectives.
“We are all working together to determine the possibility of any connection,” Suskin said
How the manhunt started
Chester County deputies tried to stop a car Monday night before midnight driven by Simpson with Terry as the passenger, officials said. The car was seen outside a closed Bojangle’s restaurant off S.C. 9 near Interstate 77. The car fled and Terry is accused of shooting at several deputies during a 20-mile chase, which reached speeds over 100 mph, into York County and back to Chester County, officials said.
Deputies returned fire but it is not believed Terry or Simpson was hit, officials said.
Simpson was arrested when the car crashed, but Terry fled on foot.
A manhunt in Chester County started Tuesday along S.C. 9 near I-77. The search caused school delays and lockdowns.
Simpson was charged with failure to stop and remains in jail in Chester.
Wednesday manhunt hits York County, and a body found
Wednesday as the manhunt continued -- with more than 100 local, South Carolina and federal police -- schools were locked down in York County after a report that Terry had been seen. He avoided capture.
Around noon Wednesday police in the cities of York and Chester in South Carolina confirmed they had warrants against Terry for the May 2 murder in York and two shootings in Chester.
Wednesday night a body was found in rural Chester County near Great Falls.
Around dawn Thursday the manhunt shifted back to Chester County after Terry was spotted east of I-77. Shortly afterward, coroner and police officials confirmed that the body found was Eugene Simpson, 33, the husband of Adrienne Simpson.
Then Thursday in the late morning, Missouri police confirmed that Simpson and Terry are suspects in both robberies and murders that happened Saturday in St. Louis County.
As of Thursday afternoon, Terry still had not been caught.
It is not known whether Terry had help evading police.
Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman, the top prosecutor for Chester County, said Thursday afternoon that prosecutors would seek criminal charges against anyone who helps Terry avoid arrest.
A person who knowingly assists someone who is being sought on arrest warrants could face as much as 15 years in prison, Newman said.
Newman vowed to seek the maximum sentence against anyone convicted of helping Terry.
“I’m praying that this manhunt comes to a safe and prompt end,” Newman said Thursday afternoon. “I am hopeful that folks in this area are taking this seriously. We need to remain vigilant and report to law enforcement any suspicious activity.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 2:34 PM with the headline "SC manhunt suspect and woman in jail also sought in Missouri double murders, police say."
