Adrienne Simpson and the Three-State Killing Spree
Background
Adrienne Renee Simpson was one of two perpetrators responsible for a brief but exceptionally violent killing spree that crossed South Carolina, Missouri and Tennessee during May 2021. Simpson committed the crimes with her boyfriend, Tyler Donnett Terry, while she was separated from her husband, Eugene Simpson. Although the pair are sometimes described as serial killers, their murders occurred within a period of approximately two weeks and are more accurately characterized as a multi-state spree killing.
The violence began in South Carolina with the deaths of two men who were personally connected to Simpson and Terry. The couple then traveled hundreds of miles west, killing two strangers in separate attacks in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Their movements continued into Tennessee, where they were linked to a fifth fatal shooting. They later returned to South Carolina, where a high-speed pursuit, gunfire directed at law-enforcement officers and an intensive weeklong manhunt brought the spree to an end.
The Murder of Thomas Hardin
Thomas Hardin, 35, lived in York County, South Carolina, and had previously been romantically involved with Tyler Terry. Hardin was reported missing after relatives and friends became unable to contact her. On May 2, 2021, Hardin was killed inside her residence in York, where she sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Her body was subsequently discovered during a welfare check.
Investigators determined that Hardin had experienced a falling-out with Terry. Reports indicated that Terry had previously stayed at Hardin’s home but had been told to leave. Simpson accompanied Terry during the period surrounding Hardin’s murder and later admitted criminal responsibility through her guilty plea. The killing was one of the first indications that the couple’s personal disputes were escalating into lethal violence.
The Murder of Eugene Simpson
On the same date Hardin was killed, Adrienne Simpson’s estranged husband, 33-year-old Eugene “Geno” Simpson, disappeared from Great Falls in Chester County, South Carolina. Eugene was a father and handyman who was well known by members of his community. His mother reported him missing after he unexpectedly stopped communicating with his family.
Investigators concluded that Eugene was shot multiple times on May 2, 2021. His body was transported away from the immediate crime scene and abandoned in a roadside ditch along Stroud Road near Great Falls. He remained missing for more than two weeks before his remains were located on May 19, 2021.
The discovery transformed what had begun as a missing-person investigation into a homicide case. Adrienne Simpson and Terry were charged with Eugene’s murder. Simpson’s role was especially disturbing to Eugene’s relatives because she had shared a marriage and children with him before becoming involved with Terry. Both defendants ultimately pleaded guilty to murdering Eugene.
The Missouri Murders
After the South Carolina killings, Simpson and Terry traveled west to the St. Louis County area. On May 15, 2021, they carried out two separate fatal shootings in different suburban communities. Unlike the earlier South Carolina victims, the Missouri victims apparently had no significant prior relationship with either perpetrator.
The first Missouri victim was 71-year-old Barbara Goodkin. She was shot and killed in University City, a suburb immediately west of St. Louis. Goodkin was attacked during what prosecutors described as part of the couple’s continuing crime spree. Her death was followed only hours later by another seemingly random encounter.
Dr. Sergei Zacharev, 58, was killed in Brentwood, another St. Louis County community. Zacharev was a physician and was sitting in his vehicle outside a hotel when he was approached and shot. The attacks on Goodkin and Zacharev demonstrated the indiscriminate nature of the spree: the couple had moved from murdering people connected to their personal lives to targeting strangers encountered while traveling.
Evidence gathered in Missouri, including surveillance material and information concerning the couple’s vehicle and movements, helped investigators connect the two suburban killings. Both Simpson and Terry later entered guilty pleas in St. Louis County for their involvement in the murders.
The Killing of Danterrio Coats
During the early morning of May 17, 2021, 34-year-old Danterrio Cortez Coats was found critically injured in the roadway near the intersection of Scheibler Road and Priscilla Avenue in the Raleigh area of Memphis, Tennessee. Police responded shortly before 2:00 a.m. and discovered Coats unresponsive. He died from his injuries at the scene.
The Memphis homicide was eventually connected to Simpson and Terry as investigators reconstructed the couple’s travel between Missouri and South Carolina. Coats had been fatally shot and left in the road. The timing and location of the killing placed the suspects in Memphis as they continued moving across state lines. Authorities identified Coats as the fifth person killed during the couple’s violent journey.
Known Victims
- Thomas Hardin, 35 — May 2, 2021 — York, South Carolina: Hardin was shot multiple times inside her apartment. She had previously been romantically involved with Tyler Terry and reportedly had a falling-out with him before her death.
- Eugene “Geno” Simpson, 33 — May 2, 2021 — Great Falls, Chester County, South Carolina: Adrienne Simpson’s estranged husband was shot several times. His body was abandoned in a ditch along Stroud Road and discovered on May 19, 2021.
- Barbara Goodkin, 71 — May 15, 2021 — University City, St. Louis County, Missouri: Goodkin was fatally shot during the couple’s passage through the St. Louis area.
- Dr. Sergei Zacharev, 58 — May 15, 2021 — Brentwood, St. Louis County, Missouri: Zacharev was shot while seated in his vehicle outside a hotel, only hours after Goodkin was killed.
- Danterrio Cortez Coats, 34 — May 17, 2021 — Memphis, Tennessee: Coats was shot and found unresponsive in the roadway near Scheibler Road and Priscilla Avenue shortly before 2:00 a.m.
The Return to South Carolina
After passing through Tennessee, Simpson and Terry returned to South Carolina. By this time, investigators in multiple jurisdictions were beginning to connect the murders. On May 17, 2021, Chester County deputies attempted to stop a vehicle occupied by the couple. Simpson was driving, and rather than surrendering, she accelerated away and initiated a dangerous high-speed pursuit.
During the chase, Terry allegedly fired repeatedly at pursuing officers. Patrol vehicles were struck by gunfire, and deputies returned fire while attempting to stop the fleeing suspects. The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed. Simpson was taken into custody, but Terry escaped on foot into a wooded area.
The escape triggered an enormous search involving local police, sheriff’s deputies, state authorities, federal agents, helicopters, tracking dogs and hundreds of law-enforcement personnel. Residents in parts of Chester County were warned to lock their doors and remain alert. Schools and businesses altered their operations while officers searched dense woods, abandoned structures and rural properties.
Tyler Terry’s Capture
Terry remained hidden for approximately one week. Authorities considered him armed and extremely dangerous because of the murders and the shots fired at pursuing officers. His ability to avoid capture created widespread fear throughout the region and resulted in one of the largest manhunts in South Carolina history.
On May 24, 2021, officers located Terry near Highway 9 in Chester County. He was exhausted and was taken into custody without another major exchange of gunfire. Simpson had already been jailed since the conclusion of the vehicle pursuit. With both suspects detained, investigators from South Carolina, Missouri and Tennessee began coordinating the prosecution of the interconnected cases.
Charges and Guilty Pleas
Simpson faced charges arising from the murders, the pursuit and the attacks on officers. Prosecutors alleged that she was not simply a passive passenger or an unwilling companion. She drove during the escape attempt, participated in the criminal journey and accepted responsibility for offenses committed with Terry.
In November 2022, Simpson and Terry pleaded guilty in South Carolina to two counts of murder for the deaths of Eugene Simpson and Thomas Hardin. Their pleas also covered numerous additional charges connected to the shootings, the vehicle chase, attempts to kill law-enforcement officers, weapons violations and other violent acts.
The South Carolina court sentenced both defendants to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The plea arrangement allowed prosecutors to secure permanent prison sentences without subjecting the victims’ families to several lengthy capital trials. The pair also faced proceedings in Missouri and Tennessee for the remaining murders.
Terry pleaded guilty in Missouri in July 2024 to murdering Barbara Goodkin and Sergei Zacharev. Adrienne Simpson entered her Missouri guilty pleas in October 2024. The resolutions ensured that the defendants would remain imprisoned for life while formally acknowledging their responsibility in the St. Louis County killings.
Nature of the Crimes
The murders committed by Adrienne Simpson and Tyler Terry combined personal grievance, domestic conflict, opportunistic violence and attacks against strangers. The first victims were linked to the perpetrators through marriage or a former romantic relationship. Once the couple left South Carolina, however, their conduct became increasingly unpredictable, with victims selected during encounters far from the original disputes.
The short interval between the murders distinguished the case from the pattern usually associated with traditional serial killers, who typically experience longer periods between killings. Simpson and Terry instead moved rapidly from one victim to the next while traveling through three states. Their willingness to shoot strangers and fire at police officers showed that their violence was not limited to any single motive or intended target.
Aftermath
The killing spree left five families grieving and forced investigators in several states to combine evidence from missing-person reports, homicide scenes, surveillance recordings, vehicle sightings and the suspects’ movements. The cases illustrated how quickly separate local investigations can develop into a single multi-jurisdictional inquiry.
Adrienne Simpson is serving life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Her crimes remain inseparable from those of Tyler Terry, but her guilty pleas established her own legal responsibility for the deaths and surrounding violence. The May 2021 spree lasted only a matter of weeks, yet it left a trail of five deaths extending from rural South Carolina to suburban Missouri and the streets of Memphis.
