THE CRYSTAL TODD MURDER CASE

The Chase

By January 1992, more than 400 potential suspects had been questioned about the murder. Horry County police were pulling out all stops in following every lead in trying to solve the case. Blood samples and fingerprint samples were taken from acquaintances of Crystal Todd. The police were still sure the killer was someone she knew. More than 1,000 fliers were distributed throughout the county to publicize the reward, and filmed re-enactments of events leading up to the murder were being used.

The Sun News mentions that, on January 21, 1992, 31-year-old Andrew Von Tyndall was driving his car back from Charleston. Tyndall had been a resident of Conway for four years and was wanted by Alabama authorities on a fugitive charge for a probation violation. He was convicted in 1984 for stealing a car, although he said he was caught while only riding in the stolen vehicle. I was young and stupid, but Ive made up for it, said Tyndall.

At 11:30 p.m. Tyndall was driving down Highway 90 on his way back to Conway, when he noticed he was being followed by a car. He turned down a side road and the car, with no headlights or blue lights on, continued to follow him. Tyndall thought he heard a gunshot and got out of his car and ran.

The chase through the woods went on for 20 miles before Tyndall finally stopped at the Burning Ridge Golf Course. The police and SLED had been chasing him with bloodhounds and helicopters for 9 1/2 hours. Exhausted, Tyndall called his ex-wife, who told him the police were looking for him. The frightened man told her where he was and waited until he was arrested. He was glad he called her. They could have killed me right there in the woods and say, Hey, we solved this, and that man that did it would be out there free, said Tyndall. I feared for my life. Tyndall claimed he did not realize it was SLED and the police who were chasing him.

Chief Harris would not say if they were following Tyndall. He did say they had no intentions to stop him, until he ran. We were in the same area, said Harris. Im very displeased we had to run him that far through the woods. We didnt cause that. He did. He remarked that authorities were pursuing several leads, some of which involved Tyndall.