tylenol murders theories

Records show law enforcement has spent the past several years dealing almost entirely with forensic evidence. It sounds like an urban legend, but it was chillingly real in 1982. 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. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. . I stepped off that dais, Fahner told the Tribune this year. On that day, two unrelated things happened: A pub owner made a phone call to police, and an extortion letter arrived at a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. And he grabs the pills, picks them up in his hand, dumps a whole bunch of them in his hand and starts sniffing, Ford recalled. Police departments were working the murders in relative isolation, and each county had its own states attorney to oversee the case. The FBIs involvement puzzled some because, as far as anyone knew, the federal agency didnt have jurisdiction in the case. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? He said Marys mother, Jeanna, asked him if she should have noticed that someone had tampered with the bottle. Marquette 10 is one of a thousand reasons why theres tension, personal jealousy, personal ambition, jurisdictional turf fights. Siekmann didnt wear gloves. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune). Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide. His brother and sister-in-law, Stanley, 25, and Theresa, 19, of Lisle, Illinois, rushed to his home to console their loved ones. The Tylenol Murders Victims Mary Kellerman On September 29, 1982, 12 year old Mary Kellerman woke up feeling ill. The victims had all taken Tylenol-branded acetaminophen capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide. The Illinois Department of Law Enforcement, now called the Illinois State Police, wanted him to help. Another theory was that whoever poisoned the medication did it at home or in a car, then placed the bottles back on the shelves. The publication reported this week that it has obtained video and thousands of documents outlining law enforcement's current case and a possible motive for the killings. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Adam Janus, a 27-year-old postal worker, wasnt feeling well and without having any way to know the mortal peril that the bottle posed for him, he took a pill from it before going to sleep that day. The prints, however, dont match the prime suspect. 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. Forty years later, Ford shook his head at the memory. They apologized, he said, but the trust had been broken. He would gravitate toward someone with a blue suit and red tie, the quintessential 1980s-style power suit. FBI agent Shari Kouba, one of the few women on the task force, ran the tips desk. Please check your inbox to confirm. What are the Tylenol murders? 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. Michael Petros, DrPH Wednesday, September 29, 1982 at 6:30am CDT, the nightmare that was to be known as the "Tylenol Murders" began 1. They knew the weapon. Investigators, however, are prepared should that question arise. [[Para leer en espaol] Los asesinatos de Tylenol, parte 2: Tylenol mezclado con cianuro fue el arma homicida. 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. 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. And Fahner wasnt the only source of tensions. I think after a day or two, the state police realized theyre on their own. Retired FBI agent Roy Lane Jr., shown in August, is the only member of law enforcement who has been part of the Tylenol investigation in its entirety. Wherever they stand, everyone wishes they had achieved a different result. He believed Thompson was behind the move, though Fahner denied it. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). 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. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). He held news conferences, sometimes twice a day, to meet the insatiable media demands. The police investigation into the Tylenol murders has centered around prime suspect James Lewis for decades. 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. Or, at the very least, get them to remember his name. The arrests came as the result of an undercover FBI operation, and The Marquette 10 as the disgraced officers came to be known remain an enduring symbol of police corruption in Chicago. Joe Murphy told NBC Chicago last year. Because all the other possibilities had been eliminated.. With Molly Jean Brandenburg, Carter Roy. I tell you, this wasnt a CSI show, he said. 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. Here, you go, Pete, the police chief said, passing the bottle to him without the type of evidence bag that would now be standard in any investigation. Forty years after the infamous Tylenol murders killed her father and two other close relatives, a Wisconsin woman refuses to take the popular pain pills. Investigators express frustration, anger even. But for something like this, for looking at a pill, it never would even cross our mind., Former DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann, who in 1982 was a deputy coroner, handled the Tylenol bottles from Mary "Lynn" Reiner and Mary McFarland. Police departments and fire stations began collecting bottles, as well. Why was this happening? Photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images. [Para leer en espaol] Los asesinatos de Tylenol, parte 2: Tylenol mezclado con cianuro fue el arma homicida. 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. 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. Investigators say new evidence may help finally solve the case of seven people who died after ingesting Tylenol laced with cyanide in the Chicago area in 1982. The likelihood that the same person could have put cyanide into different batches manufactured at different times in different places was logistically zero.. You shove those up my nose again, youre going to get socked in the face. Simply put, the feds entry into the investigation hinged on the admittedly preposterous notion that the manufacturer intentionally put poison in the pain reliever and then committed a misdemeanor crime by not including it on the label. I think hes nothing but a class act, said McQuaid, a retired state police captain. The more she . Fahner left the dinner immediately and made calls throughout the drive home, taking advantage of his position as a statewide official with access to a car phone, then a relatively rare piece of technology. NBC News reached out to Lewis and did not receive a response. The profilers believed the killer was likely to visit one of those named places to see the heartbreak he had caused. 40 years later, Kasia Janus is sharing. Halfway through the speeches, an aide tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to take an important call. It would likely be someone with gray hair. Now she's sharing her story for the first. Most working detectives really dont trust the FBI, and the FBI doesnt trust us, Ford said. The Tylenol murders have never been solved, though at one point, the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was a suspect. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. I mean, theres 10,000 reasons why people compete with each other. Investigators soon confirmed there was lethally poisonous cyanide inside the Tylenol capsules in question. Tamper-resistant pill containers were introduced with packaging that allows consumers to notice if a bottle of pills or medication has been opened or altered. A casket is carried out of St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for three members of the Janus family in 1982. The bottle's cap was easily opened. Chicagos doing what they want, so lets just give them something minor to do.. The task force knew the mechanism behind the murders, Fellmann said. Dr. Howard Markel. The Illinois State Police told NBC News the investigation remains ongoing. Was Charles Dickens the first celebrity medical spokesman? Investigators took the funeral guest books and jotted down license plates, then entered names into a newly developed computer program that allowed them to cross-check for anyone attending multiple memorials, according to the state police report. Among the earliest priorities was 24-hour surveillance outside the victims homes, on the assumption that someone who killed anonymously would want to see the results of their work and might drive by the house. 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. 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. I knew how to organize things.. As the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Tylenol murders approaches, investigators are working with prosecutors on a now-or-maybe-never effort to hold a longtime suspect responsible for the. There wasnt that much tension, Fahner said. 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 . 3: A Nightmare on Halloween: With Molly Jean Brandenburg, Carter Roy. The Tylenol murders would soon spur the development of plastic seals and tamper-evident packaging. A native of the south suburbs, Gutowski received a master's degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield and is a graduate of Southern Illinois University. Employees of the Chicago City Health Department continue to test Tylenol medication for the presence of deadly cyanide at the Department's lab on Oct. 7, 1982. They gave her one extra-strength Tylenol capsule that, unbeknownst to them, was laced with the highly poisonous potassium cyanide. For example, Johnson & Johnson developed new product protection methods and ironclad pledges to do better in protecting their consumers in the future. As a result of the crime, makers of Tylenol developed new product protection methods. Seven people died in 1982 after taking painkillers from bottle someone police do not know who had slipped cyanide pills into. 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. But on Oct. 1, 1982, he had been a detective for only a year. The poisonings spanned multiple towns and two counties. An FBI agent stood up and started to give a rundown of Chicagos case. Him he needed to take an important call doesnt trust us, Ford shook his head at the least. 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