ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A South Carolina couple charged with two murders in St. Louis County were sentenced to life in prison without parole in a South Carolina courtroom on Wednesday.
Tyler Terry and Adrienne Simpson, the suspects in at least four homicide cases in two states and a week-long manhunt in Chester County, pleaded guilty.
In May of 2021, they were charged with taking two lives in St. Louis County.
Barbara Goodkin, 71, was killed while riding as a passenger on Delmar in University City when the vehicle was hit with bullets.
Her husband Stanley Goodkin also was shot in the chest; his cell phone saved his life.
Sergei Zacharev, 58, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Drury Inn on Eager Road in Brentwood and also robbed of his belongings.
"He was definitely full of life. One of a kind. Full of energy. Full of optimism,” said Alexander Kourbatov, a friend of Zacharev.
Kourbatov added that while it was progress, he believed there was still work to be done locally.
“While it's definitely providing some degree of relief knowing that these individuals started to plead guilty of murders, I believe that the families would want closure on this soil,” he said.
"Our lives have changed 100%. You need to go forward but it's hard to smile some days. While what happened in Carolina gives us hope, it does not bring my brother back,” said Alex Zakharyev, the man's brother.
We reached out to the St. Louis County Prosecutor's office about the couple's cases here.
There are 14 charges filed against the pair.
The cases against both are sealed by the court at this time, so they could not provide us with any further information.