tylenol murders theories
They apologized, he said, but the trust had been broken. I realized I was in the deep end of the pool, he said. And by days end, flight attendant Paula Princes body would be discovered and tests would show that a Tylenol bottle inside her home contained four cyanide-laced capsules. The tainted bottle from the Schaumburg pharmacy contained three partial prints on the capsules, but (they) were not suitable for comparison, the memo states. In work that would later be heralded in scientific journals, the scientists also tested the cyanide kept at the Tylenol plant to see if it somehow got into the production process. Investigators, however, are prepared should that question arise. The Tylenol Murders In 1982, seven innocent Chicago civilians were boldly murdered. Its a one-way street for information back and forth. He already had a new job. McNeill and Johnson & Johnson offered replacement capsules to those who turned in pills already purchased and a reward for anyone with information leading to the apprehension of the individual or people involved in these random murders. Even after he retired from the FBI in 1996, he didnt let it go. But their deaths did inspire a series of important moves to make over-the-counter medications safer (albeit never 100 percent safe) for the hundreds of millions of people who buy them every year. To its credit, the company took an active role with the media in issuing mass warning communications and immediately called for a massive recall of the more than 31 million bottles of Tylenol in circulation. A casket is carried out of St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for three members of the Janus family in 1982. "As you can see, it is easy to place cyanideinto capsules sitting on store shelves," he wrote in the letter. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. A lot of people who didnt like me or didnt like Thompson or my association were taking shots, Fahner said. Jose Rosa, right, was one of hundreds of Chicago city employees and volunteers to distribute warnings about cyanide-laced Tylenol in fall 1982. The effort was Herculean, said Jeremy Margolis, a former U.S. attorney who was assigned to the task force. All Rights Reserved. The bottle's cap was easily opened. In late September of 1982 seven people were killed after an unknown suspect placed cyanide laced Tylenol pills in store bottles. In fact, so many big dogs were present, Fellmann said he couldnt find a free chair inside his own 60-seat roll call room. You understand? Ford said he told Stein. He investigated the Tylenol poisonings in the Janus family and later served as police chief in Island Lake. The Tylenol Murders" and asked him if he has any theories on who the Tylenol Killer might be. Pursuing the mission, however, eventually sent the FBI and the Chicago Police Department in two different directions. The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of poisoning deaths resulting from drug tampering in the Chicago metropolitan area in 1982. Seven people between the ages of 12 and 35 years old died in 1982 after ingesting extra-strength Tylenol capsules that were found to have been laced with cyanide, a deadly chemical. Conspiracy theories about motives and suspects for all these heinous acts continue to be bandied about on the Internet to this day. And 35 years later, this murder mystery is still . (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). Ford said he told the renowned pathologist the bottle was on the vanity, and Stein, who wasnt wearing gloves, went to grab it. The attorney general largely stopped campaigning after joining the task force, but his face was on TV every night. Tylenols parent company, Johnson & Johnson, also saw its stock price drop after the news about the tainted capsules broke. Meanwhile, a 12-year-old child named Mary Kellerman had also died suddenly in another Chicago suburb after taking an Extra-Strength Tylenol. In keeping with that theory, the task force contacted hospitals to ask about anyone treated for poison burns or symptoms, in case the killer became ill or injured during the spree. Every Tylenol bottle had a lot number that offered specific details about the batch those capsules came from. And wherever they fell on the issue, that position hasnt changed much over the past four decades. They knew the locations. Roger Arnold worked at a jewel warehouse with the father of one of the victims named Mary Reiner. The pills were sold at stores in suburban Chicago, and bottles of Tylenol were immediately pulled from shelves to be tested by health departments for the presence of cyanide. No one has ever been charged with the murders. The prints, however, dont match the prime suspect. I was the detective at the scene. Now Fahner had to win the job for himself, and he faced a formidable opponent in Democrat Neil Hartigan, a vote magnet from Chicagos North Side. In 1983, the U.S. Congress passed what was called the Tylenol bill, making it a federal offense to tamper with consumer products. Tylenol Ty, Ford said. And my next thought was that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.. As a state crime, murder fell under the purview of local law enforcement. 1: Poisoning the Well: Directed by Travis Clark. Security cameras were scarce in suburban Chicago in 1982, but investigators checked the images that existed. The state police memo indicates fingerprints were found on at least one of the bottles, as well as a full print on the inside of a different bottles box. The gelatin-based capsules were especially popular because they were slick and easy to swallow. Security cameras were scarce in 1982, but investigators checked the images that existed, including this photograph from a drugstore camera showing Paula Prince, center, buying a bottle of tainted Tylenol. The investigation would fork, taking the FBI and Chicago police down vastly different paths. He bought a rancid ham at Jewel and when he opened it, it was spoiled. NBC News has not reviewed that evidence. The discovery, so far, has been more of a curse than a blessing for present-day investigators, who have spent years obtaining DNA samples from investigators, public health officials, scientists and medical professionals who came in contact with the poisoned Tylenol. I have no idea who gave that one, but it was perfect.. . The couple were later pronounced dead, too. They told stories of information hoarding, turf wars and glory seeking even when there was none to be had. Joe McQuaid, a task force investigator with the state police who had worked for Fahner when he was director, acknowledged it was an unorthodox setup. Severns confronted people at both agencies, who blamed each other for keeping him in the dark. In those early days, there were so many agencies involved, so many people desperate to solve the case. The profilers predicted the culprits past likely included treatment for mental health issues and an attack on his parents. He was released in 1995 after serving only 13 years. Investigators express frustration, anger even. The agencies, at times, clashed with each other. This Oct. 18, 1982, column by Tribune columnist Bob Greene included specific details at the request of the FBI, such as the home address of Tylenol victim Mary Kellerman. Lab technicians Nlada Marzette, left, and Lynn Pilaggi inspect the contents of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules for cyanide contamination at the Illinois Department of Public Health in 1982. Each person underwent a rigorous background check. That same day, a 27-year-old postal worker named Adam Janus of Arlington Heights, Illinois, died of what was initially thought to be a massive heart attack but turned out to be cyanide poisoning as well. A long-planned meeting with DuPage prosecutors also was pushed back in the spring. The 18-page investigative summary also provides key evidence, including the names of the three main suspects, during the first seven months of the case. Authorities believed they offered clues about who could and who could not have poisoned the capsules. There, research chemist Karen Wolnik and her colleagues established a trace element pattern a sort of chemical fingerprint for each sample to determine whether it was identical to the poison used in the Tylenol killings. Several months have passed since the suburban detective made his pitch to the Cook County states attorneys office. Arlington Heights police Chief Rodney Kath, second from left, works with other members of the Tylenol task force in an old state police bunker in Des Plaines. Flight attendant Paula Prince bought a tainted bottle of Tylenol at the Walgreens at Wells Street and North Avenue in Chicago. Was Charles Dickens the first celebrity medical spokesman? I think after a day or two, the state police realized theyre on their own. Ford said Stein encouraged him to smell the pills, but the detective refused and pushed away the pathologists hand. Thats just human nature. A decadeslong investigation has centered around Massachusetts man James Lewis, 76, who was 36 at the time of the murders. Wherever they stand, everyone wishes they had achieved a different result. In a surveillance still photo, you can see a man who looks remarkably similar to Lewis standing in the background as one of the victims, Paula Prince, checks out. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune). Fahner stepped off the stage and ducked behind a blue velvet curtain, where a state police officer briefed him. Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. The city's most notorious unsolved murdersthe killing of seven people with cyanide-laced Tylenols in 1982is back in the news, as the seating of a grand jury is 1 2 It was standing room only inside the Arlington Heights Police Department for the first meeting of what would become the Tylenol task force. And they had a very good theory as to when they were placed. The investigators would then return around 5 p.m. to update everyone on the days developments. Tylenol murders: A nationwide panic, a family tragedy Her dad, aunt and uncle were killed in the notorious unsolved poisonings that terrorized Chicago. The bottles traveled to various warehouses, including a final storage stop at a Jewel facility in suburban Franklin Park, before being delivered to different grocery stores on different days before the poisonings. But ultimately, three more people Mary Reiner, Mary McFarland and Paula Prince died within days after taking what they thought was an Extra-Strength Tylenol. The company also introduced price reductions and a new version of their pills called the caplet a tablet coated with slick, easy-to-swallow gelatin but far harder to tamper with than the older capsules which could be easily opened, laced with a contaminant, and then placed back in the older non-tamper-proof bottle. But on Oct. 1, 1982, he had been a detective for only a year. Finally, in late July, officials from both Cook and DuPage gather for a video conference. Someone, police hypothesized, must have taken bottles off the shelves of local grocers and drug stores in the Chicago area, laced the capsules with poison, and then returned the restored packages to the shelves to be purchased by the unknowing victims. They can account for the differing DNA profiles. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. Another tip involved a man who was threatening to poison Hormel food products. But the police chief of the Chicago suburb where Adam Janus lived, Joe Murphy, told CNN he hopes forensic technology used to analyze DNA could eventually produce the break they need to conclusively identify whoever was responsible for the Tylenol killings. The Tribune has spoken with several people who have been asked to provide DNA samples within the last decade all men who had access to poisoned bottles found in Cook County. Every night, I would come home after my kids were in bed, he said. "Ladies, you ever been harassed for something for 40 years that you had nothing to do with?" FBI agent Shari Kouba, one of the few women on the task force, ran the tips desk. There was little evidence to go on, no inkling of a motive and five people dead. According to the state police memo obtained by the Tribune, the FDAs work traced the cyanide from the tainted capsules to Fisher Scientific, a Massachusetts-based lab supply company, which distributed that particular batch in 1978. In the meantime, Kasia Janus has said shes dealt with occasionally overwhelming sadness because of the graduations her father couldnt attend. Thats because nobody was keeping track of who was buying cyanide, Wolnik said. They gave her one extra-strength Tylenol capsule that, unbeknownst to them, was laced with the highly poisonous potassium cyanide. In 1989, the FDA established federal guidelines for manufacturers to make all such products tamper-proof. I mean, theres 10,000 reasons why people compete with each other. They would work the case in Chicago and send someone else to Des Plaines to play nice with the others. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. Forty years after that terrifying period in September 1982, investigators say new evidence and a potential motive may be enough to finally solve the case. The Soviets were willing to assist, but their satellites werent trained on the Chicago suburbs at the time. In the years that followed, Fellmann would rise through the ranks of the Arlington Heights Police Department and eventually become police chief of far north suburban Island Lake. A photograph of a television screen shows the specific lot number for a batch of Extra-Strength Tylenol that was the first to be recalled. The man hurriedly told the Hormel operator that he had to go and he would call her back later. . The program went far beyond any database previously used by law enforcement in Illinois. NBC News has not reviewed those documents. The decision cost the company more than $100 million, an enormous amount in 1982. That thrill, however, would eventually diminish over time and the killer would seek more excitement, according to the profilers. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. With absolute certainty, they can say the following: Records show at least four fingerprints were found during the initial investigation. In 2010, DuPage County prosecutors filed a sealed affidavit stating investigators had found DNA on three bottles and the capsules inside, according to documents obtained by the Tribune. It wasnt a grab for authority. President Reagan wanted the FBI in the investigation, retired FBI Special Agent Roy Lane Jr. told the Tribune. Details about the seven victims, how they obtained the tainted bottles and their final moments were outlined in a confidential police memo obtained by the Tribune. Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. Bottles that werent tossed out were sent to J&J, the FDA and various government laboratories for testing. The Tylenol murders: How we reported this story. The first few days were spent talking to people closest to Prince and sifting through the many tips they received. Congress eventually criminalized tampering with medications and other consumer products, classifying that as a federal crime that could carry up to life imprisonment in cases involving a death. (Ovie Carter / Chicago Tribune). They were particularly concerned that something happened during the manufacturing or the shipping or storage, Wolnik said. The Tylenol Murders Remain One of the Nation's Biggest Unsolved Mysteries Popular belief is that the killer was James Lewis, the man imprisoned for 13 years for extorting Johnson & Johnson in the. As the de facto leader of the task force, he would come to be known in the media as "Tylenol Ty." The Tylenol murders would soon spur the development of plastic seals and tamper-evident packaging. Three months earlier, 10 Chicago officers from the citys West Side were convicted of taking bribes to protect heroin rings. We were getting flooded with calls, said John Fellmann, an Arlington Heights detective assigned to the case. Before the 1982 crisis, Tylenol controlled more than 35 percent of the over-the-counter pain reliever market; only a few weeks after the murders, that number plummeted to less than 8 percent. Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek talks about the Tylenol investigation on Oct. 7, 1982, about a week after the seven deaths. One man, James Lewis, claiming to be the Tylenol killer wrote a ransom letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million in exchange for stopping the poisonings. With fears mounting, Johnson & Johnson recalled all over-the-counter Tylenol capsule products on Oct. 5, nearly a week after Mary Kellermans death. The dire situation, both in terms of human life and business, made it imperative that the Johnson & Johnson executives respond swiftly and authoritatively. In Illinois, some towns began pulling bottles from the store shelves and sent police officers down the street with bullhorns encouraging people to throw out their Tylenol. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. Nobody knew what to do with (the investigation) because it was all over the place, Fahner said. Here's what to know about the history of the case and the latest developments. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. "While this tragic incident remains unsolved, this event resulted in important industry improvements to patient safety measures including the creation of tamper-resistant packaging.". With no apparent motive and little evidence to go on, it was a tough task. He held news conferences, sometimes twice a day, to meet the insatiable media demands. If you are curious, come to a small house on a quiet, winding street in Elk Grove Village. Former Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner stands on the former site of the Tylenol task force headquarters in Des Plaines, now an empty parking lot. Forty years later, these earliest days remain a point of pride for some and a source of frustration for others. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? His boss assigned him to the Janus murders two days earlier because the departments more seasoned detectives were working the fatal beating of a homeless man in a local park. By days end, however, tainted capsules would be blamed for two deaths in neighboring DuPage County, broadening both the scope of the investigation and the threat to the public. I knew how to organize things.. The poisonings spanned multiple towns and two counties. But when she opened the . But something more sinister was afoot when Kasias paternal uncle Stanley Janus and his wife, Theresa Tarasewicz Janus, each took pills from the same Tylenol bottle that Adam had bought in an attempt to fight headaches. Other copy-cat poisonings, involving Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications, cropped up again in the 1980s and early 1990s but these events were never as dramatic or as deadly as the 1982 Chicago-area deaths. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). Scott Stump is a staff reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY. I think we ended up charging that guy with a misdemeanor, some disorderly conduct or some nonsense, he said. Sadly, the tragedies that resulted from the Tylenol poisonings can never be undone. And we were able to analyze the cyanide and show that it was not the same (cyanide at the plant) as cyanide in the capsules., Lab technicians Nlada Marzette, left, and Lynn Pilaggi inspect the contents of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules for cyanide contamination at the Illinois Department of Public Health in 1982. Ford and Gildea arrived at the campus with hopes of a break in the case, only to find out the so-called professor was a high school boy pretending to work at UIC so he could pick up college girls. The Unsolved Tylenol Murders of 1982: The Unabomber Theory Written by C.W.S. And only months later, it changed the way we purchase and consume over-the-counter medications. She also laments that her dad never got to meet her and her husband, her son, her stepson and her step-grandson. Chicagos doing what they want, so lets just give them something minor to do.. That wasnt there.. He is the director of the Center for the History of Medicine and the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan and the author ofThe Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick and the Discovery of DNAs Double Helix (W.W. Norton, September 21). Among them was Lane, a well-respected federal agent who would help put away all kinds of criminals during his nearly 30-year career, including mob boss Sam Carlisi, former Illinois Gov. Pain in the neck, Hogberg said of his CPD counterparts. What are the Tylenol murders? (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). And, in the decades since, scientific advances have allowed investigators to detect DNA profiles on at least three of the tainted bottles and the capsules inside. Im just being honest, Siekmann said. All of them, it turned out, took Tylenol shortly before they died. Given the totality of the circumstances, some thought it unusual for the Illinois attorney general to lead the investigation. Agents interviewed the victims families, neighbors, co-workers and friends about any known enemies. As for the ongoing case, sources familiar with the investigation told the Chicago Tribune that charges are not imminent and may not come at all because the case lacks physical proof. What are the Tylenol murders? Come to 1425 Armstrong Lane.. Chicago police Detectives Jimmy Gildea. After just one or two task force meetings, Ford and Gildea told their boss they werent going back. We used every single technique available to us. Former DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann, who in 1982 was a deputy coroner, handled the Tylenol bottles from Mary "Lynn" Reiner and Mary McFarland. When Ford and Gildea arrived at the North Side flophouse where the man lived, he was still on the phone with a company operator and was promising to punish Hormel just like he had in the Tylenol case. Testing found cyanide in the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule on the right. The police questioned him and searched his home, they turned up several interesting connections. Tylenol murders: A nationwide panic, a family tragedy Transformed by tragedy Her dad, aunt and uncle died 40 years ago after taking poisoned Tylenol. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). Beginning on Sept. 29, 1982, and over the next week, seven people were murdered in the Chicago area after unknowingly taking Tylenol pills that were spiked by a killer. Indeed, the Johnson & Johnson recall became a classic case study in business schools across the nation. Photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images. We felt kind of creepy doing it, retired FBI agent Bob Gibson said of his graveyard duty. NBC News reached out to Lewis and did not receive a response. Former Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner stands on the former site of the Tylenol task force headquarters in Des Plaines, now an empty parking lot. Unfortunately, each victim swallowed a Tylenol capsule laced with A lethal dose of cyanide. The task force investigating the Tylenol killings doubted that James Lewis would be reckless enough to stay in Manhattan after mailing an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million . As Fahners team made calls, a DuPage County deputy coroner named Pete Siekmann sat in an office at the Illinois Department of Public Healths toxicology lab in Chicago and waited to see if the Tylenol capsules taken by Mary Lynn Reiner and Mary Sue McFarland were poisoned. (Earl Gustie / Chicago Tribune). Most working detectives really dont trust the FBI, and the FBI doesnt trust us, Ford said. Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek, shown in September, says he felt Ty Fahner was chosen to head the task force for political reasons. When that happened, the suspect would make contact with an investigator and offer to help solve the case. We locked him up.. They had a lot of questions and I didnt have any answers at all., Mike Severns, a former Elk Grove Village police detective assigned to Mary Kellerman's murder, says it still bothers him that officials neglected to update her grieving parents in the early days of the investigation. Tylenol murders victims Among the victims there were three from the same family, as Adam Janus, aged 27 collapsed after ingesting extra-strength Tylenol and was rushed to the hospital where he died. Kasia Janus also always verifies products are properly sealed before she buys anything at stores, she said in a recently published series of interviews with CNN that described the gut-wrenching legacy left behind for her by the unsolved Tylenol killings, which made tampering with medications as well as other consumer goods a federal crime but remain unsolved. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. Some of the investigators started using it privately, too. But on this unseasonably warm October morning, during a separate meeting between the FBI and state police, Lane was one of several investigators who gathered to brainstorm possible motives behind the crime. Halfway through the speeches, an aide tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to take an important call. She also told CNN she had invited many people to a memorial service and celebration of life luncheon honoring her father in hopes that shed learn things she never got the chance to because of the murder. IE 11 is not supported. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics Many of the task force members interviewed by the Tribune recounted difficulties as more than 100 people tried to work as a team. You shove those up my nose again, youre going to get socked in the face. Dr. Howard Markel writes a monthly column for the PBS NewsHour, highlighting momentous historical events that continue to shape modern medicine. And it took over my life.. Within a week, her death would panic the entire nation. There was no clear leader. And there were a lot of bottles to come out of that lot.. The Chicago Tylenol Murders: With Laurence Fishburne. Prince was officially declared dead by the Medical Examiner's office at 6:45 p.m. Investigators discovered a bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol in her bathroom with one capsule missing and a.
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