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Netflix documentary sheds new light on Tylenol murders of 1982
CHICAGO (WGN) – In 1982, seven Chicagoland residents died out of the blue after taking Tylenol capsules that were laced with cyanide.
Decades later, investigators are still baffled.
Now, a new Netflix documentary, 'Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders,' looks to unpack the cold case and shine a new light on the investigation.
On Sept. 28, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman from Elk Grove Village was hospitalized after taking one Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule. She died the following day.
That same day (Sept. 29, 1982), 27-year-old postal worker Adam Janus of Arlington Heights died of what was initially believed to have been a heart attack, but officials later attributed his death to cyanide poisoning.
His brother Stanley, 27, and sister-in-law Theresa, 19, both of Lisle went to Adam's home to be with loved ones after Adam's death when they experienced intense headaches. They each took Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules from the same bottle Adam used earlier in the day to soothe their symptoms.
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Stanley died later that day, while Theresa died two days later, according to authorities.
Over the next few days, 35-year-old Mary McFarland of Elmhurst, 35-year-old Paula Prince of Chicago, and 27-year-old Mary Weiner of Winfield all died after taking Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide.
At the time, Tylenol was the most popular, best-selling non-prescription pain reliever in the United States. One reason was because the capsules were reportedly gelatin-laced, making them slick and easy to swallow.
In early October of 1982, investigators determined the seven victims all swallowed a Tylenol capsule laced with a lethal dose of cyanide.
At that time, Tylenol was made by McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. As investigators attributed the deaths to Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide, McNeil Consumer Products issued a mass warning and immediately called for a monumental recall of over 31 million bottles of Tylenol in circulation.
Investigators reportedly found tainted capsules in some grocery stores and pharmacies in Chicagoland, but those capsules had not yet been sold or consumed.
McNeil Consumer Products and Johnson & Johnson offered replacement capsules to anyone who turned in pills they already purchased and a reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the person(s) involved in the poisoning.
As the investigation went on, Johnson & Johnson determined the cyanide lacing happened after bottles of Tylenol left their factory.
Police thought someone had to have gone to the grocery store and/or pharmacy, taken the bottles off the shelves, laced them with cyanide and then went back to the store and put the laced bottles back on the shelves where the unknowing victims bought them.
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No one has ever been formally charged in connection with the deaths, but one man peaked the interest and suspicion of investigators: James Lewis.
After a nationwide manhunt, authorities arrested Lewis in 1982. He served over 12 years in prison for sending an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson in which he demanded $1 million to 'stop the killing.'
Following his arrest, Lewis reportedly gave investigators a very detailed explanation as to how the person responsible for the murders might have operated before admitting to having written and sent to extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson.
Lewis claimed he never planned on getting any money by sending the letter and instead wanted to shine a bad light on his wife's former employer.
While serving his prison sentence, he told the Associated Press the detailed explanation as to how the suspect might have operated was just an assumption about the suspect's actions. He called the suspect 'a heinous, cold-blooded killer, a cruel monster.'
Police and federal investigators later determined Lewis was living in New York City at the time of the poisonings, although he briefly lived in Chicago in the early 1980s.
Lewis was released from prison in 1995 and he and his wife then moved to Massachusetts.
Illinois authorities reopened the investigation in 2009, prompting FBI investigators to go to Lewis' Massachusetts home where they took his computer and other belongings.
Reports said Lewis provided DNA samples to the FBI in 2010.
He died on July 9, 2023, at the age of 76.
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In 1983, Congress passed 'the Tylenol Bill,' which made it a federal crime to tamper with consumer products.
Then in 1989, the Food and Drug Administration put forth federal guidelines for manufacturers to follow to make consumer products tamper-proof.
'Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders' is available to stream on Netflix.
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