CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WJZY) – Wanted murder suspect Tyler Terry is now in custody after being on the run for about seven days in Chester County, South Carolina the sheriff’s office announced. He’s wanted for four homicides across two states.
“Tyler Terry is in custody. No shots were fired by any party. Everyone (including Terry) is safe,” the Chester County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.
A force of around 300 officers were concentrating their efforts in the area of Highway 9 and Richburg Road, about 50 miles southwest of Charlotte, near where 26-year-old Terry was seen in the woods around 2:40 p.m. Sunday.
Terry has been on the run since last Monday when he and Adrienne Simpson fled a traffic stop in Chester County. The high-speed chase ended in a crash near Lewisville High School. Simpson, the driver of the vehicle, was arrested. Terry escaped.
Last Wednesday, authorities charged Terry with the murder of Thomas Hardin who was found dead on May 2 in York, S.C.
Detectives said they have “credible evidence” linking Terry to the homicide. Simpson has been charged with accessory after the fact.
Authorities said they are also working to link Terry and Simpson to other violent crimes in the area, including shootings at Elrich Street and at Taco Bell on JA Cochran Bypass.
Officials said last Thursday that a body found in Chester County had been identified as 33-year-old Eugene O’Brien Simpson, the husband of Adrienne Simpson. Mr. Simpson had been missing since May 2, officials said. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Also on Thursday, police in St. Louis County, Missouri accused Terry of speeding away from two deadly shootings in St. Louis. Police said new surveillance video out of St. Louis shows the car Terry made his escape in after shooting a man and woman just one hour apart.
The crimes in St. Louis happened on Saturday night, May 15, prompting more than three dozen investigators to work around the clock to find the killers.
The first break in the case came when ballistics in both murders matched up. The victims were a St. Louis doctor who was gunned down leaving a trendy suburban restaurant. An hour before, an elderly couple had been targeted as they drove home from a night out — the husband was injured by the gunfire, his 70-year-old wife died.
Surveillance video was recovered and lead police to a silver SUV used in both crimes. More police work tracked the suspects to a St. Louis area hotel. By the time police descended on the hotel, they were gone, driving back east towards the Carolinas.
“This modern-day version of Bonnie and Clyde do several violent crimes in South Carolina and travel across the country. What they did between South Carolina and Missouri we don’t know yet. That’s a part of what they are going to be checking on, and obviously, South Carolina and every state in between,” an investigator with St. Louis Police said.
