Tylenol murders: A nationwide panic, a family tragedy Her dad, aunt and uncle were killed in the notorious unsolved poisonings that terrorized Chicago. Investigators also collected more than 200 cyanide samples from Chicago-area businesses, facilities and institutions and sent them to an FDA research laboratory in Cincinnati. It was so Dick Tracy to me, Steed said. Pero quin fue el asesino? The man shrugged off his dismissal when investigators asked, saying it was the nature of the business. The White House, however, had ordered the FBI to find a way into the case amid growing public panic. 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. Many of the task force members interviewed by the Tribune recounted difficulties as more than 100 people tried to work as a team. A drugstore clerk removes Tylenol capsules from the shelves of a pharmacy Sept. 30, 1982, in New York City after reports of tampering. Stacy has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, with minors in American politics and Spanish. But on Oct. 1, 1982, he had been a detective for only a year. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide that were sold in the Chicago suburbs were linked to the deaths of seven people, leading to a nationwide panic that had the Food and Drug Administration advising consumers across the country to stop taking Tylenol products. We used every single technique available to us. Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner talks about the Tylenol deaths on Oct. 1, 1982. The original theory behind the crimes was a culprit who took the Tylenol bottles from drug and grocery stores in the Chicago area over a period of weeks, opened the capsules and added potassium cyanide, after which the culprit would return the bottles to the stores to be purchased. 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. The tips were written up on 3x5 index cards. 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. I think hes nothing but a class act, said McQuaid, a retired state police captain. The best suspect for the Tylenol murders has always been James William Lewis, who sent an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to stop the murders. Male murderers are more likely, in general, to kill randomly and on a large scale. He had never been better known in Illinois and was inching up in the polls too. READ: The awful work of the real doctors who inspired M*A*S*H. The case continued to be confusing to the police, the drug maker and the public at large. Our property guy, he couldnt keep up with it., Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. Michael Petros, DrPH Wednesday, September 29, 1982 at 6:30am CDT, the nightmare that was to be known as the "Tylenol Murders" began 1. Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called "Mad Poisoner." Still, in his opinion, Fahner was exactly what the task force needed. Whats going on? 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. Former Chicago police Detective Jimmy Gildea, shown at his Chicago home in July, investigated the death of Tylenol victim Paula Prince. In reality, some task force members still accuse their colleagues of secretive behavior 40 years later. Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek talks about the Tylenol investigation on Oct. 7, 1982, about a week after the seven deaths. (Phil Greer / Chicago Tribune). Reports would be written in triplicate so each member would get a copy. 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. In 1989, the FDA established federal guidelines for manufacturers to make all such products tamper-proof. I think its pretty important, the aide replied. Or, at the very least, get them to remember his name. The CPD set up its own tip line and organized 35 detectives to work out of what was then Area 6 Headquarters at Belmont and Western. In fact, so many big dogs were present, Fellmann said he couldnt find a free chair inside his own 60-seat roll call room. Chicago police Detective Charlie Ford, assigned to the Prince murder, recalled being stunned when Cook County Medical Examiner Robert Stein showed up at the victims Old Town condo and immediately asked to see the Tylenol. Editors note: This report has been updated to remove the reported amount of cyanide used. Whoa, whoa, he recalled. The investigation would fork, taking the FBI and Chicago police down vastly different paths. Each participant has a packet of information that authorities use to explain their findings. "While this tragic incident remains unsolved, this event resulted in important industry improvements to patient safety measures including the creation of tamper-resistant packaging.". America was gripped by paranoia and fear. 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. 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 profilers believed the killer was likely to visit one of those named places to see the heartbreak he had caused. Investigators, however, are prepared should that question arise. Police departments were working the murders in relative isolation, and each county had its own states attorney to oversee the case. 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. With absolute certainty, they can say the following: Records show at least four fingerprints were found during the initial investigation. And neither does the DNA. That evening, Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner sat on a dais listening to stump speeches at the Kane County Republican Organizations annual dinner. Working with FDA officials, they introduced a new tamper-proof packaging, which included foil seals and other features that made it obvious to a consumer if foul play had transpired. In 1983, the U.S. Congress passed what was called the Tylenol bill, making it a federal offense to tamper with consumer products. I knew how to organize things.. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). 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. Our highest responsibility has always been the health and safety of our consumers," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement to NBC News. Elmhurst police Detective Herb Hogberg interviewed a chemist who had been laid off from the company in recent months. wide worlds of science, health andtechnology. Im absolutely sure about that. And the last point that they wanted to strike home was that the person who committed this is enjoying the attention right now and the fact that he or she had outsmarted the law enforcement, Lane said. We locked him up.. He brought personal knowledge (as the former state police director) and experience regarding a criminal investigation. So, the theory was the tampering took place at the store, said FBI agent Lane. The Tylenol murders have never been solved, though at one point, the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was a suspect. Stanley Janus soon collapsed on his late brothers kitchen floor. I stepped off that dais, Fahner told the Tribune this year. With no apparent motive and little evidence to go on, it was a tough task. The task ahead was difficult. And lives were at risk. Forty years later, these earliest days remain a point of pride for some and a source of frustration for others. 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. While acetaminophen the active ingredient in the top-selling pain reliever was a fine white powder, these were filled with a grainy, translucent substance. By the time he reached his house in Evanston, he was the de facto leader of what had quickly become the countrys highest-profile murder case. Her parents gave permission. The tainted bottle from the Schaumburg pharmacy contained three partial prints on the capsules, but (they) were not suitable for comparison, the memo states. If you are curious, come to a small house on a quiet, winding street in Elk Grove Village. The Tylenol Murders Pt. Some worked at the medical examiners office, which played a key role in figuring out the cyanide connection. You know, boost exposure and stuff like that.. It all goes to them, and you get nothing in return., Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek talks about the Tylenol investigation on Oct. 7, 1982, about a week after the seven deaths. The bottle's cap was easily opened. 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. In those early days, the best leads came from the Tylenol bottles themselves. (Carl Wagner / Chicago Tribune). Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide. 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. Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. Tylenol Ty, Ford said. Within a week, her death would panic the entire nation. Arlington Heights police Chief Rodney Kath, second from left, works with other members of the Tylenol task force at its Des Plaines headquarters in 1982. Flight attendant Paula Prince bought a tainted bottle of Tylenol at the Walgreens at Wells Street and North Avenue in Chicago. And only months later, it changed the way we purchase and consume over-the-counter medications. However, investigators believe circumstantial evidence is enough to make this a "chargeable" case, but that decision would have to come from prosecutors, according to documents reviewed by the Chicago Tribune. The agencies, at times, clashed with each other. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Seven people died in 1982 after taking painkillers from bottle someone - police do not know who - had slipped cyanide pills into Ramon Antonio Vargas Sun 2 Oct 2022 02.00 EDT Forty years after the. The panic stemming from the Tylenol murders resulted in a permanent change in the packaging of medicine. We had gloves in our car and basically used them on decomposed bodies. 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. Fahner, as head of the task force, quickly became the public face of the investigation. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. The most promising leads involved people doing curious things with chemicals. Im just being honest, Siekmann said. 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. When the family returned home, both Adam's brother Stanley and Stanely's wife Theresa took a Tylenol, resulting in both of their deaths. Her parents gave permission. 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. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Paramedics came and took Adam Janus to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead from what they suspected may have been a heart attack. Their departments relationship with the FBI had been rocky for decades, but it was at a particularly low point in September 1982. And so the Department of Justice just looked up a law and by a little bit of a hook and a crook said the FBI has jurisdiction because of an FDA law (about) truth in labeling.. 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. 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. He didnt get in our way. The couple were later pronounced dead, too. A casket is carried out of St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for three members of the Janus family in 1982. Thats being made out of whole cloth all these years later. The task force didnt know who or why.. Ford said Stein encouraged him to smell the pills, but the detective refused and pushed away the pathologists hand. All Rights Reserved. Dr. Howard Markel writes a monthly column for the PBS NewsHour, highlighting momentous historical events that continue to shape modern medicine. Tylenol murders: A nationwide panic, a family tragedy Transformed by tragedy Her dad, aunt and uncle died 40 years ago after taking poisoned Tylenol. Tainted capsules were discovered in early October in a few other grocery stores and drug stores in the Chicago area, but, fortunately, they had not yet been sold or consumed. In 2000, Joy Bergmann revisited the story in "A Bitter Pill" . The gelatin-based capsules were especially popular because they were slick and easy to swallow. It was the first of two such trips he made that day, initially with the Reiner bottle and later with the one that killed McFarland. Investigators assumed the culprit was a man, though records indicate they didnt automatically rule out anyone based on gender. Authorities believed they offered clues about who could and who could not have poisoned the capsules. The operation was primarily staffed by female agents who answered phone calls and assessed information while their male counterparts worked in the field. James Thompson, Illinois Secretary of State James Edgar and shook his head. "Ladies, you ever been harassed for something for 40 years that you had nothing to do with?" (Chicago Tribune), If you are the Tylenol killer, though, you may be harboring just the vaguest curiosity about the people on the other end of your plan: The people who were unfortunate enough to purchase the bottle you had touched, Greene wrote. Pero quin fue el asesino? 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. Why was this happening? 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. Introduction Heading link Copy link. Fahner thought state officials needed to be even more aggressive, despite the consequences for the investigation. When that happened, the suspect would make contact with an investigator and offer to help solve the case. Several suspects did too. The Chicago Tylenol Murders: With Laurence Fishburne. Jose Rosa, right, was one of hundreds of Chicago city employees and volunteers to distribute warnings about cyanide-laced Tylenol in fall 1982. Next week: Police investigate a poor mans James Bond, and an eighth person dies. He would gravitate toward someone with a blue suit and red tie, the quintessential 1980s-style power suit. He also laid the foundation to get Extra-Strength Tylenol off store shelves statewide, going beyond the single batch the pain relievers manufacturer had recalled that day. And 35 years later, this murder mystery is still . Jose Rosa, right, was one of hundreds of Chicago city employees and volunteers to distribute warnings about cyanide-laced Tylenol in fall 1982. The guy was a little wimpy, but his ham did stink.. The Tribune interviewed nearly two dozen members of the task force, many of whom confirmed the reports veracity and added their own perspective. The task force opted to work out of an Illinois state police bunker in Des Plaines, a central location that would be home to a tip line, twice-a-day investigator briefings and news conferences for the scores of reporters camped outside the building. Please check your inbox to confirm. Was Charles Dickens the first celebrity medical spokesman? As weeks went by without an arrest, detectives started using different doors to avoid the cameras. Thats just human nature. Eight of them would be three-member squads composed of a federal agent, a state investigator and a suburban detective from one of the towns where the victims lived or tainted bottles were discovered. They can do it, in part, by revisiting the earliest days of the Tylenol investigation, a time when evidence was not always handled according to todays careful standards. Nothing was being solved.. By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. Given the totality of the circumstances, some thought it unusual for the Illinois attorney general to lead the investigation. The attorney general largely stopped campaigning after joining the task force, but his face was on TV every night. 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. Forty years later, it still bothers him. And it took over my life.. To this day, however, the perpetrators of these murders have never been found. But I didnt have the gray hair yet.. The company, however, did not keep records of where the products were shipped. 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. The red cap was easily flipped open, with nothing but a little piece of cotton left to cover the capsules. Following the same theory, investigators took pictures of everyone who attended the victims funerals and set up time-lapse cameras at grave sites to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. Following the same theory, investigators took pictures . From the start, Detectives Ford and Gildea didnt understand the purpose of driving out to Des Plaines each day in rush hour traffic when they had a murder to solve back in the city. DNA evidence wasnt part of police work at the time, but it would become a factor in the case a quarter-century later. Written by a high-ranking Illinois state police supervisor in April 1983, the document describes the wide net authorities cast in the hopes of solving the mystery. 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. Helena Tarasewicz, mother of Tylenol victim Theresa "Terri" Janus, weeps over the casket containing her daughter's body during graveside services at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles in 1982. Do not use it.. The 40-year-old Tylenol murder investigation remains at a standstill. Fahner ordered his staff to work through the night, calling local police, sheriffs, coroners, the FBI, the FDA, prosecutors and public health officials. The batch contained more than 1,800 pounds of cyanide, divided into packages of various sizes. Severns confronted people at both agencies, who blamed each other for keeping him in the dark. As the de facto leader of the task force, he would come to be known in the media as "Tylenol Ty.". Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. Three months earlier, 10 Chicago officers from the citys West Side were convicted of taking bribes to protect heroin rings. he answered. She would be the seventh and final person to die from taking the poisoned medication. After just one or two task force meetings, Ford and Gildea told their boss they werent going back. ]. Former DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann, who in 1982 was a deputy coroner, handled the Tylenol bottles from Mary "Lynn" Reiner and Mary McFarland. And they had a very good theory as to when they were placed. Chemists working for the Illinois Public Health Department in Chicago test the contents of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. The Tylenol murders would soon spur the development of plastic seals and tamper-evident packaging. A long-planned meeting with DuPage prosecutors also was pushed back in the spring. He regaled reporters with all kinds of stories during that final interview, but none seemed to amuse him more than the unhappy Hormel ham man. The decision cost the company more than $100 million, an enormous amount in 1982. Some expressed surprise at how casually other people treated the poisoned bottles. Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner talks about the Tylenol deaths on Oct. 1, 1982. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. We didnt get anything, but we were kicking around ideas like that.. Chicago police Detectives Jimmy Gildea. (Don Casper / Chicago Tribune), Obviously, Johnson & Johnson didnt put cyanide in their own product. J.J. Bittenbinder a tough-talking, mustachioed detective who would later gain fame as a TV safety expert served as a liaison to Fahners task force in Des Plaines. Reporters from the Chicago Tribune tracked down Lewis last month as part of the investigative podcast "Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders" and asked him if he has any theories on who the Tylenol Killer might be. They were particularly concerned that something happened during the manufacturing or the shipping or storage, Wolnik said. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). IE 11 is not supported. Within 48 hours of the murders, the task force used this information to conclude publicly that the pills could not have been poisoned during production. He couldnt leave. Its a one-way street for information back and forth. Early on, the task force decided to instruct the public to get rid of their Tylenol by either turning it in to police departments or throwing it away. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). 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. She also laments that her dad never got to meet her and her husband, her son, her stepson and her step-grandson. The Tylenol Murders" and asked him if he has any theories on who the Tylenol Killer might be. We also are still were looking at emerging forensic technology, Sgt. . 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). In theory, the plan would prevent anyone from griping about being kept out of the loop. Ford said he quickly interrupted. Siekmann drove to a state laboratory in the city with the bottle on the seat next to him. So I stopped by the house on the way home, introduced myself and tried to answer any questions they had, he said. Roger Arnold worked at a jewel warehouse with the father of one of the victims named Mary Reiner. But she said years of therapy and yoga have helped her overcome her anger and guilt, and shes hopeful there will be justice in the killings of her father as well as her aunt and uncle. The Tylenol murders fundamentally changed the way we consume medication - among other things, leading to tamper-proof pill and bottle designs. In one instance, someone reported that a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago had been bragging about access to labs with cyanide. Studies have found women who kill use poison more often than men do, but they typically target people they know. (Chicago Tribune archive). Chemists working for the Illinois Public Health Department in Chicago test the contents of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. As a state crime, murder fell under the purview of local law enforcement. It wasnt a grab for authority. A new book by a former Johnson & Johnson employee suggests the Tylenol poisonings, which killed seven people in the Chicago area in 1982, took place in the company's production or distribution. Only really frivolous things went in that other pile, she said. Helena Tarasewicz, mother of Tylenol victim Theresa "Terri" Janus, weeps over the casket containing her daughter's body during graveside services at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles in 1982. They came up with nothing. 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. 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. Another theory was that whoever poisoned the medication did it at home or in a car, then placed the bottles back on the shelves. They can account for the differing DNA profiles. 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. He didnt fit that profile, Hogberg said. Nearly three weeks after the murders, for example, the FBI asked Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene to write a column about Mary Kellerman and include specific details such as the familys home address and the location of the little girls grave, with her parents permission. And they would remain apart for the next four decades. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis, shown in his Chicago office in July, was part of the original Tylenol task force in 1982. Oct. 2, 1982: CBS 2's Phil Walters reports on the investigation into the Tylenol poisonings. As a result of the crime, makers of Tylenol developed new product protection methods. Stores were pulling the product off shelves. 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