The husband of a woman recently involved in a lengthy high speed chase was found dead in South Carolina on Wednesday.
Adrienne Simpson, 34, was arrested after leading law enforcement on a 20-plus-mile-long chase through Chester County, South Carolina on Monday night. The chase led police into neighboring York County and then back again before Simpson was eventually apprehended.
During the chase, Tyler Terry, 27, allegedly fired several shots at officers from the passenger window of Simpson’s vehicle and allegedly struck the windows of two patrol cars in pursuit of the duo.
“He fired shots, multiple shots, at my deputies,” Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey said — noting that the chase frequently featured speeds exceeding 100 m.p.h. No deputies were injured.
Simpson was arrested on the scene after crashing somewhere between Sloan Road and Lewisville High School on Highway 9, according to Charlotte, N.C. ABC affiliate WSOC.
Terry, who is wanted for murders in two states, was able to successfully elude police and is believed to have made his way into a nearby forest. Investigators are said to still be searching the area.
Two days after the chase, the body of Simpson’s husband, 33-year-old Eugene Simpson, was discovered in a ditch on Stroud Road in Great Falls, South Carolina — approximately a 20 minute drive from where the Monday night chase eventually ended. Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker ruled the death a homicide but is awaiting autopsy results to determine the exact cause. Police are reportedly looking into whether Terry and Mrs. Simpson had any connection to Mr. Simpson’s passing. He was reported missing on May 2, 2020.
The trio reportedly do have something of a history together, and it’s not good, according to WSOC reporter Greg Suskin.
“Family members tell me Eugene Simpson, known by ‘Geno’ was separated from his wife, Adrienne Simpson,” he tweeted. “They have two children together. They last saw Tyler Terry outside their Great Falls home last month. Geno ran him off, his brother told me.”
“Crazy,” Elijah Simpson said of his brother’s death and the toll that his premature end is currently exacting on the family. “Crazy. Ridiculous. We’re going through a lot right now.”
A national manhunt has been underway for Terry since May 17, WSOC reported. He was originally wanted in connection with the May 2 murder of 35-year-old Thomas Hardin and two other unrelated shootings in South Carolina.
Early Thursday, the Major Case Squad of St. Louis said that Terry and Simpson were suspects in the recent murders of Dr. Sergei Zacharev in Brentwood, Missouri and Barbara Goodkin in University City, Missouri. In both instances, police said they believed robbery was the motivation, according to St. Louis ABC affiliate KMOV.
Stanley Goodkin was also shot on the night of May 15, but the cellphone in his breast pocket stopped the bullet.
“We cannot find a tie to either one of these people to St. Louis,” Joseph Spiess, Jr., chief of the Brentwood Police Department, said during a press conference. “From now, what it appears, this modern day version of Bonnie and Clyde do several violent crime[s] in South Carolina then travel across the country. What they did between South Carolina and Missouri, we do not know.”
“This is a very isolated series of events. It’s not like we have sociopaths — psychopaths — running around, shooting people, doing robberies everyday,” Spiess added. “It is certainly scary but it is a very isolated event.”
Terry was allegedly spotted in Chester County Thursday, according to Charlotte, North Carolina CBS affiliate WBTV.
“There has been a confirmed sighting of Terry between the area of Fishing Creek on Hwy 9 and the ATI (formerly referring to Allvac plant),” the Chester County Sheriff’s Office tweeted around 7:30 a.m. “He is to considered [sic] be considered armed and dangerous. All residents in the area are encouraged to remain inside, lock their doors, remove firearms from vehicles and ensure your vehicles are locked, and report suspicious activity to 911 immediately.”
Police say they’re still searching the general area:
We are asking residents in the area to remain on high alert, secure their firearms, lock their doors and continue reporting suspicious activity to 911.
— Chester County Sheriff’s Office (@ChesterSheriff) May 20, 2021
The couple allegedly gave chase after deputies approached a Mitsubishi idling in the parking lot of a closed fast food place. The car sped away, police say, and the rest happened fast. Simpson was charged with failure to stop for law enforcement and as an accessory after-the-fact in several other crimes allegedly committed by Terry.
[images via the Chester County Detention Center and the Chester County Sheriff’s Office]
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